The Draco Malfoy Diaries
by xstorymaker
Summary: Draco is starting his fourth year at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry and thinks it'll be a walk in the park, until he meets Astoria Greengrass and his world is turned upisde down...and it all starts with a sneeze...
1. The Sneeze That Ended My Life

**Chapter One – The Sneeze That Ended My Life**

Dear Diary

No, scratch that. "Dear Diary" doesn't really sound like a good way to start this. Due to this, I shall name you Steve, and you shall be my ever-so-useful source of venting my anger and recording what happens in my day.

So, Dear Steve,

It was my first day of my fourth year of Hogwarts. Platform 9 ¾ was packed, but that was nothing out of the ordinary. It had been for the past three years I'd come to Hogwarts. Yes, Hogwarts - a pathetically stupid school where everyone and everything in it was…also pathetically stupid. Except me, of course.

The platform was crowded with Hogwarts students – a mixture of purebloods, half-breeds and…_mudbloods_. Yes, that's right; Hogwarts is a school that just lets in any old filth, regardless of their blood status. They'll be begging _Muggles_ to come in next! It's disgraceful. The other three Hogwarts should've gone with Salazar Slytherin's opinion to make Hogwarts a school for purebloods only. I can not believe that, just because of my hate for Mudbloods, Harry Potter and his group of little cronies thought _I_ was the heir of Slytherin! It's absurd. But then, Harry Potter is a low-life, conceited nutter. Everyone thinks he's so cool. He's literally the crowned jewel of Hogwarts. He was a nobody in the Muggle world. Add a lightning-bolt-shaped scar and a Hogwarts castle and he becomes one of the most famous wizards that ever lived. Believe me, if I had a lightning-bolt-shaped scar on my forehead, I'd probably be famous too. Just you watch, this year is going to be my year! As soon as I get off the Hogwarts Express, my reign as King Draco Malfoy the 1st will begin.

Anyway, It was hard to think about hating anyone, let alone Harry bloody Potter, when my mother was smothering me in a hug so tight she was about to cut off my blood circulation. I pulled out of her grasp and went to say goodbye to father.

"Make sure you stay away from those Greengrasses. And that Mudblood, Granger. And for Merlin's sake, Draco, try and beat her in at least _one_ subject." Charming. Other parents were crying at the sight of their children leaving. Not mine, evidently.

"Don't worry, father," I scanned the crowd for Granger, eventually locating her head of frizzy brown hair, "You wont be disappointed." I replied, and then got onto the train.

For the past three years, I'd sat in the same compartment on the Hogwarts Express, and this year was no different. However, there were a couple of extra passengers in our compartment this year.

"What are you doing here, peasant?" I ordered as I closed the compartment door. Daphne Greengrass was sat next to my friends. Well, what I shared with Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle and Pansy Parkinson was _not_ friendship. More like a…_acquaintanceship_.

"I could say the same about you, Malfoy." She retaliated.

"You see, Greengrass, that's just where you're wrong. I'm not a peasant. On the other hand, you _are_, ever since your clueless father lost his job at the Ministry of Magic, you and your family have been bankrupt. How's your money-less summer been then?" I smirked. Revenge felt so good.

She was wise enough to shut her mouth. I went and sat next to Goyle and noticed a younger-looking girl sat across from me, staring out of the window even though the train hadn't even gone anywhere.

"Who are you?" I said. She turned her attention to me and her eyebrows shot up, disappearing behind her fringe of brown hair. It wasn't like I said it in a particularly rude manner; she just took it the wrong way.

"Excuse me?" She demanded. Daphne looked from me to her.

"Honestly, _Malfoy_, you're such an ignorant git at times. I thought you _knew_ her, she's my sister, Astoria. She's in her third year for crying out loud." Daphne explained.

"Sister?" I glared at Daphne, and then looked back at Astoria. Great – there were two of them.

"Yes, sister. Have you never heard of the word or something?" Daphne said.

"God, you are as conceited and vain as Daphne tells me!" Astoria scoffed.

"Oh, so you've been talking about me all summer, then? Did you miss me or something?"

"In your dreams, _Malfoy_." She spat.

"More like my nightmares, _Greengrass_. What's got your wand in a knot, then?" I grinned.

"You." She said bitterly. What had I done to her? The year hadn't even begun yet! The train had only just set off for Hogwarts about twenty seconds ago.

"So you _have_ been thinking of me?" I tried to hold in my laughter watching her nostrils flare and her lip tremble with anger. She didn't reply, but simply sighed in exasperation.

Astoria didn't seem as annoyed, but she stared at me in a way which could have meant more than one thing. From afar her eyes looked plain and boring – like her sisters'. But now that I was closer to her, I noticed her eyes were dark blue, a sort of indigo colour. Her brown hair was shoulder length and completely straight. She was _sort of _what you could call beautiful…nothing like Daphne, who was annoying, maddening, irritating, infuriating, frustrating and simply a pain in the backside.

I sighed and turned to Crabbe and Goyle to break the awkward silence that was filling the compartment. "So what've you two been up to this summer?"

Both of them gave grunts in reply. I turned to Pansy out of sheer desperation. "Anything interesting?"

"Oh, plenty. First my parents took me…" I zoned out then. I regretted asking her. Ten minutes later, she was still talking. Was it not plain _obvious_ to her that no one gave a rats arse what she'd been doing all summer? Well, at least I didn't.

"Back in a minute." I shoved open the compartment door and ran slap-bang into Weasley and…Potter.

"Watch where you're going, Weasel Bee. Oh and Potter, try not to petrify anyone with that ugly face of yours." I smirked at them, watching Scarhead trying to think of a comeback. He didn't have to. Ron gasped in mock horror and pretended to look out of one of the train windows.

"Look out, Malfoy! I think I see Buckbeak up there! Please, make sure he really _does_ kill you this time. You'll be doing the whole of mankind a favour."

"You'd better watch what you say, Weasley. You too, _Potter_."

"Shove off, Malfoy." Scarhead spat out my name like it was venomous and dragged Ron off in the opposite direction. I simply turned around and went back into my compartment, feeling much better now that I'd annoyed Potty and the Weasel a little. Now I just had Granger to annoy and all would be alright in the world.

My bubble of happiness burst as soon as soon as I walked back in. I saw that, in the five minutes I'd been outside, Crabbe had fallen into a very deep sleep. After another ten minutes of silence, I was extremely bored and decided to give my old pal a makeover using nothing but my quill and some ink. I am _bad-ass_!

I gave Crabbe a thin handlebar moustache and beard and drew a large circle around his left eye which made him look like he'd been in a fight…and lost. I leant over him to apply the finishing touches of my masterpiece, when suddenly the train jolted and…and I did the most embarrassing thing I had done for a long time. I fell, slap-bang, into Vincent Crabbe's lap for the whole world to see! Well…there were four other people watching us, but still. Oh, the _mortification_. I felt like _crying_!

Then it got worse. Crabbe sneezed and woke himself up. Yes, he sneezed in his sleep! Was that even possible, to sneeze in your sleep? And now I was covered in Crabbe saliva.

"Unguhh!" Crabbe said as he woke up. "Malfoy what are you doing?" But I completely ignored him.

"EURGH! I'M COVERED IN CRABBE SALIVA! NOT TO MENTION SNOT!" I yelled, wiping my face with the back of my hand.

"What are you on about?"

"You _sneezed_ on me! In your _sleep_! HOW COULD YOU SNEEZE ON SOMEONE IN YOUR SLEEP?"

Crabbe looked lost. Pansy, Astoria, Goyle and Daphne were all gasping for breath laughing. I felt like punching every single one of them in the face. I didn't. Goyle was a big guy – one hit could've sent me flying. And as for the rest of them, they were girls, so I couldn't exactly do anything to them. So instead, I stormed out of the compartment and went and sat with…Millicent Bulstrode. Bloody hell; how depressing had my life become?

Dear Steve,

I didn't see Crabbe, Goyle, Pansy, Daphne or Astoria till I was inside Hogwarts. But it was odd – normally when I walk through the corridors of Hogwarts, the whole student body isn't cracking up laughing and wiggling their fingers in my direction. I turned the corner into the dungeon corridor and saw a bunch of Slytherins laughing about something on the wall. I shoved them out of the way and saw.

Wow.

**DRACO MALFOY AND VINCENT CRABBE – SOMETHING MORE THAN FRIENDSHIP?**

The picture was the worst. Underneath the huge, bold title was a picture of me and Crabbe when we had that little Fall-Sneeze incident on the train.

"What? What the hell is this?" I tore the huge poster down from the wall and scrunched it up.

"Don't bother, Malfoy! They're around the whole school!" Someone shouted.

That hurt. Do you know how big Hogwarts is? Well, if not, it's _huge_.

My blood boiled. I knew _exactly_ who was behind this.

Daphne sodding Greengrass and her stupid little sister. And believe me – I was going to get revenge…REVENGE, I SAY!


	2. The Bludger That Ended My Life  Again

**Chapter 2 – The Bludger That Betrayed Me**

Dear Steve,

So, I was in Muggle Studies today and was learning about dairies and how Muggles keep them to vent out their emotions. So, Steve, that is precisely what I'm going to do now.

!

And from that explosion you can probably tell that I'm seething right now. Not just angry, or annoyed but completely _livid_.

Why? Oh, I'll tell you why. I'll tell you why the entire school are laughing and Crabbe and me. I'll tell you how much more I hate Daphne now. If you can't guess, you're pretty thick. No offence. I've had completely _false_ accusations coming my way from everyone. Even Weasley, Granger and Potter have tormented me. It's terrible.

"Where's Crabbe then, eh, Malfoy? Did you and him have some kind of spat? Oh dear, oh dear." Weasel Bee said. "You know, I had some ideas for the engagement. I think Crabbe should hire Buckbeak and put the engagement ring in his mouth and make Malfoy shove his hand in and get it! Whadya think, Harry?" Potter couldn't respond, he was too busy laughing. At _me_! As for me, I was burning up with anger. I turned and began stomping off in the direction of the Slytherin common room. Colin Creevey, a third year Gryffindor kid, was trotting along the corridor, camera in his hand _as_ usual.

Then I had one of those light-bulb-moments.

"Colin, old pal! How've you been?" I said, gently but firmly stopping him in the corridor.

"You're Draco Malfoy." He looked confused.

"Yeah, last time I checked, I was."

"I've never even spoken to you."

"Yes you have! Plenty of times…" My voice trailed off at the end of my sentence because I was, of course, lying my head off.

"Whatever. What do _you_ want from _me_?" He clutched his camera in his hand as if I was about to take it off him and snap it into two pieces. Cameras…they were odd things. They took pictures of things when you pressed the button and the pictures didn't even _move_. Pathetic.

"I'll give you twenty galleons," I started, "if you do one little thing for me." I leant down and whispered something in his ear. He narrowed his eyes.

"Twenty galleons, you say?"

"Twenty galleons." I nodded slowly.

"Make it twenty five."

"Fine. I want it done by tomorrow."

"Will do." Ugh. I hoped Colin hadn't thought we'd become friends or something.

"By the way, Colin," I called after him before he walked off, "don't say a word about this to _anyone_. This is strictly business." He nodded eagerly and then left for the Gryffindor common room…

Dear Steve,

Three words:

Revenge. Is. SWEET! There were no words on the planet – nay, the entire universe – that could explain how completely ecstatic I was right now. I was so _relieved_ that the entire student body had found something else to waggle their fingers at…

Huge posters covered the walls of Hogwarts. It was sort of a sickening sight – Daphne Greengrass in her sleep. I felt sorry for the other girls who had to share the dorm with her. How could they sleep with all that _snoring_? Oh, the horror.

_In their faces!_

That wasn't the worst part, though.

"I didn't know you were a _drooler_, Greengrass!" I smirked, looking up at the picture.

"I…How did you get this?" She demanded.

"You see, Greengrass, if I told you how I got this piece of imbecilic evidence that you really _are_ disgusting, it'd counter-productive now wouldn't it?" I replied. This was awesome. This was just too awesome. "To be _quite_ honest, I didn't know you wore a brace. _Or_ that you slept with a bunch of kids' toys, for that matter. _Or_ that you-"

"STOP RIGHT THERE, MALFOY!" She stormed off with tears forming in her eyes. Well, now she knew how it felt to be completely and utterly humiliated in front of the entire school, didn't she?

So I went through the entire day smiling. And believe me, that's a big thing. It doesn't really happen too often to me, so I decided to enjoy it while it lasted. Ronald, on the other hand, had not forgotten about Crabbe's uncontrollable mucus that just had to come out and splatter all over me. Excellent.

I passed him in the corridor and he gasped. "Did I miss the proposal? Oh, Malfoy, I know we don't see eye to eye but I really am happy for you!"

Then Granger crossed the line.

"So where are you two getting married? Why don't you do it here at Hogwarts? Maybe Professor Flitwick'll let his choir sing Here Comes The Bride." She grinned.

Then along came Potter. If I thought the Mudblood crossed the line, then Scarhead crossed the _new_ line.

"Which one of you'll be wearing the dress? Do tell, Malfoy, do tell."

I completely ignored Harry and glared straight Hermione. "No-one told you to speak, you filthy Mudblood. You should learn to respect your superiors."

"_Superiors_?" That probably wasn't a wise move. Getting Granger angry was not good. "What's the superiority in having a pureblood status, greasy hair and a snobby attitude?"

"OK, 1 – purebloods are way better than Mudbloods in every single way possible. 2 – my hair is _not_ greasy. And 3 – I am not a snob. You just can't handle it that I'm richer _and_ I'm a pureblood. Truth hurts, doesn't it Granger?"

"Whatever Malfoy." Ron stepped in. "What's the point in having "clean blood" if your attitude is as nice as a pile of Hypogriff dung?"

"For your information, I wasn't actually talking to you. I was talking to your Mudblood mate." I corrected.

"I don't care if she's a Mudblood or not! She and Harry are my best mates and neither of them are purebloods. Do I care? No I don't. So I suggest you shove off before Hermione punches you again."

"Just leave it now, Ron." Granger muttered. "If I was him, I definitely wouldn't take pride in being someone so insignificant they resemble a _flea_." Harry spluttered with laughter at this. Ron looked a little lost. Probably didn't know what a flea was. Neither did I, come to think of it. But I knew it was an insult.

"Well at least I'm not a bushy-haired Mudblood!" I yelled at her.

"WELL AT LEAST I'M NOT A-"

I didn't get a chance to see what she wasn't because Professor McGonagall intruded. The teachers had all seen the poster on countless occasions and had tried getting them all down, but needed the help of the school caretaker, Filch, who – lucky for me – would be off sick for at least another two weeks.

"Miss Granger, what on earth – or should I say who – are you yelling at?"

"Nothing. It's nothing, Professor." She answered, quiet as a mouse.

"Well it most certainly didn't look like nothing to me. You and Mr Malfoy will come to my office at once."

And so, my bubble of happiness had been, once again, burst.

*sniff*

Dear Steve,

WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY? OH CRUEL FATE! JUST TAKE ME NOW!

This is so unfair! I got two weeks of detention. And it wasn't just any detention – I was cleaning out Filch's office.

And that, my friend, was not the worst part. I was stuck with both of the Greengrasses. Yes – _both_! McGonagall figured out who was behind the "**DRACO MALFOY AND VINCENT CRABBE – SOMETHING MORE THAN FRIENDSHIP?**" posters and was completely livid about it. Granger, however, got out of detention. Why? Oh yes, because her Transfiguration essay was "outstanding."

Talk about unfairness!

I soon forgot about the unfairness of everything as it was the first Quidditch match of the year: Gryffindor v. Slytherin. I don't see why we always had to play Gryffindor first. Though I'd never admit it out loud, Gryffindor _were_ better. We could've taken on Ravenclaw _and_ Hufflepuff in one go, but Gryffindor were different.

I changed into my Quidditch robes and made my way to the pitch with the rest of my teammates – Graham Montague, Adrian Pucey, C. Warrington (I didn't actually know his first name), Miles Bletchley, Goyle and myself. But hang on…there were only six of us. Quidditch was played with seven players on each team. Where was Crabbe? There was no need to ask as someone did it for me. "Where's Crabbe today?"

Bletchley replied. "He's got a minor case of Dragon-Pox, so Greengrass is filling in for him today."

"Excuse me, what?" WHAT? "Daphne's filling in? I have to share the Quidditch pitch with _Greengrass_?"

WHAT?

"Yes, Malfoy. I'm sure you'll live to tell the tale." Great. It was bad enough having to do two weeks worth of detention with her, and now _this_? Oh, sigh.

"Ready everyone?" Montague looked back at the rest of us and the double doors to the Quidditch pitch opened. I mounted my broomstick and kicked off the ground, feeling the wind rush through my hair and the adrenaline rush through my veins, like it always did when I flew on my broom. The game started swiftly and after ten minutes, Gryffindor were leading with ten points at a score of 40-30 to them.

Suddenly everything went from being in normal speed to extra fast and then to slow motion. I saw a Bludger hurtling my way and narrowly dodged it. About five other players behind me managed to move out of the way and avoid getting hit. Daphne Greengrass, on the other hand, was facing the other way and didn't see it coming. (Cue slow motion…) I heard a loud crack, even above the screaming of the students below us and Daphne fell off her broom, promptly before hurtling down to the ground at top speed.

Oh dear.

Dear Steve,

Just decided to write something before I went and served my duty in Filch's office. I just realised – with Granger getting out of detention and Daphne being carted off to the hospital wing – I was going to be alone with Astoria for a whole three hours every day for the next two weeks.

That Bludger really let me down today. If it wasn't for that bloody Bludger, I wouldn't be dreading this detention as much.

Pray for me.


	3. Like Father, Like Son

Sorry, guys! I know this really ISNT as entertaining as the last two chapters but I needed a DRASTORIA ONLY section somewhere...DO NOT let this put you off though, because there's plenty more drama and humour coming in the next chapters. Remember to R+R please! =D

Dear Steve,

Bloody hell!

If you did pray for me – as I asked previously – it most definitely didn't work. That could not have gone worse in any way possible. Three solid hours in Filch's office alone with only Astoria Greengrass as company. And it was terrible. Still, I consider myself lucky. With Granger being a total know-it-all and getting out of detention and Daphne being carted off to the hospital, there were two less annoying people out of my life for those three hours.

There was a very awkward silence between me and Astoria though, so I started off a perfectly normal conversation. It's not like I was rude or anything, I just asked her a fairly simple question. But no, she had to be difficult.

"So…how are you?" I muttered.

"Why do you care?" She answered from her side of Filch's office. A perfectly _normal_ answer to my perfectly _normal_ question like, "Fine, you?" would've been great.

Grrrrr.

"Hey, that's answering a question with a question, that's not fair, is it?"

"Who says?" She smirked.

"You're doing it again!"

"Well sorry, but nobody had the decency to enlighten me on the Laws of Conversation. Who told _you_ you're not allowed to answer a question with a question? Oh yes, I forgot. You're a Malfoy – you know everything, don't you?"

"Pretty much, yeah."

She sighed in annoyance. "Daphne's really hurt, you know."

PFFT! How dare she say that, as if it was my fault!

"Well, she's the one who can't play Quidditch to save her life, not me. If she kept her eyes open, she would've seen that Bludger coming her way." I said, shoving a box full of junk out of my way.

"She says it's all your fault."

"Oh? And what made her come to this ridiculous conclusion?"

"Dunno really. She's always been a bit…"

"Dramatic? Annoying? Infuriating? Idiotic?" I grinned.

"You can't talk, Malfoy. At least she isn't vain or arrogant or egotistical or sarcastic. Not like _someone_ round here." Vain? Arrogant? I wasn't any of those things! Where did she get that idea from?

"You know, there is a _polite_ way to tell people about themselves."

"I know. I just choose to save the _im_politeness for you."

"And why's that?" I questioned.

"It _could_ have something to do with the fact that you're a vain, senseless lunatic. That could be a contributing factor."

I sighed. This was going nowhere. "Look, we're going to be in this dump for three hours every day for the next two weeks, so I suggest we stop arguing or we'll drive each other loony."

"What do you want? To completely start over?"

"Oh yeah, let's put this all behind us and pretend like it never happened. Hi, I'm Draco Malfoy, a vain, senseless lunatic!" I grinned.

She glared. "I really do hate you."

I gasped, pretending to take offence. "_Wounded_!"

"You can be _really_ annoying at times, Draco." She didn't sound as frustrated as she said she was though.

"Ah, so we're on a first name basis now, are we?" I was surprised. Really. I'd only ever heard her say "Malfoy".

"Don't get too happy. That was a one-off."

"Trust me; it's _nothing_ to be happy about." She rolled her eyes and scowled at me.

"You know, when I saw you on the train, I thought you were a stupid, arrogant, vain, annoying fool. Turns out…I was right. 100% right. You're just like your father – cruel and pathetic. Does it run in the Malfoy family then?"

Oh no. She just crossed the line. Dissing me, I could handle, but not the entire Malfoy family. That was going _too_ far. _**WAY**_ too far.

"Well, Greengrass, you're not exactly a Saint yourself, are you? I mean, you're in Slytherin. You can't be."

"I never wanted to be in Slytherin. I actually wanted to be in _Gryffindor_."

"Don't lie. The Sorting Hat takes into account what house you _want_ to be in. It was going to put Harry bloody _Potter_ in Slytherin for God's sake, and I reckon it would've if he didn't ask for _Gryffindor_!" She was getting to my last nerve now.

"Did it ever occur to you that that's not the case with everyone? Do you think that every single Hogwarts student in history has been placed in the house of their choice? No, didn't think so. You were put in Slytherin because you're a foul, evil maniac."

"Whatever. My family have been in Slytherin for centuries." I snapped. "What makes me any different to them?"

"Exactly! That just makes you one more in a long line of foul, evil maniacs! Like father, like son, huh?"

"I am nothing like him."

"Oh really? _Prove it_." Before I could say anything else, she stormed out of Filch's office looking really frustrated.

So yeah, that was our conversation. I stayed in Filch's office until McGonagall came to collect me.

I was busying myself with looking through Filch's drawers and filing cabinet, having a few quick glances at some student records. I found mine:

FULL NAME:** Draco Lucius Malfoy**

AGE:** 14**

BIRTHDAY:** 5****th**** June**

LEGAL PARENTS:** Narcissa Malfoy **and** Lucius Malfoy**

HOGWARTS HOUSE:** Slytherin**

BLOOD STATUS:** Pureblood**

WAND:** 10" Mahogany and Unicorn Hair – purchased from Ollivanders.**

I was looking through Weasel Bee's records when McGonagall walked in. "Mr Malfoy, those files are extremely confidential. And where on Earth is Miss Greengrass?"

I shrugged, closing the filing cabinet. Her eyebrows shot up in disbelief.

"Professor, I can genuinely say that I do not know where she is."

"Well what did you say to her?" Her eyes widened.

"Nothing! Honestly…We just sort of had an argument, that's all." Yes, an argument that she obviously won. In fact, she didn't win me! She absolutely positively _crushed_ my argument!

"No matter. I expect she'll be with her friends in the Great Hall. Or perhaps with her sister in the hospital wing. I suggest you keep away from her, Mr Malfoy, or you really could get into trouble." She looked at the time. "You should probably get off now, actually. Go on, off you go."

Long live my next argument…

Dear Steve,

The next day, I had a free lesson, so I went and took a walk by the lake like I always did. I didn't even like being with my friends when I was by the lake, let alone anyone else, so you can imagine my annoyance when _someone_ showed up.

"Astoria, I already have to spend three hours with you later. _Please_ don't make it any more." I said without turning around.

"How did you know it was me?" She demanded.

"Dunno. Just did."

"And anyway, you've got nothing to do with where I go _or_ what I do. How do you know I didn't just fancy a walk?"

"Well I'd be pretty freaked out if you were following me."

"Well, who'd want to follow you? I like coming here when I have nowhere else to go. Problem?"

"Yes, I do have a problem. _I_ like coming here, too."

"I'm not really bothered what you like doing. That's got nothing to do with me, Malfoy." She said as I went and sat on a log behind me.

"Back onto a surname basis then? Silly me, _I_ thought we were starting to get on!" I shrugged as I watched her select a shady spot on the grass to sit down. She pulled a heavy-looking Potions book out of her bag and started reading.

"We aren't getting on at _all_, Malfoy." She muttered, her eyes flitting across the page. "And I don't intend on doing so either."

"Never?" I smirked.

"Never."

"Never is a _long_ time you know, Greengrass. Sure you'll be able to hate me for ever?"

She looked over at me. "I'm quite confident." And then she…_smiled_. PASS THE SUNGLASSES, SOMEONE! It was then that I realised – I'd never actually _seen_ her smile. At least not at _me_, anyway.

I checked the time and saw that it was probably best I went as I had to make my way to Care of Magical Creatures. Great – my _favourite_ lesson EVER. _Not_.

"Well I'll be seeing _you_ later."

"What? Will you?"

"Yes – detention, remember?"

"Oh. Oh yes. Sorry, reading."

So I left for Care of Magical Creatures. It didn't help that Potty and the Weasel still tormented me over Buckbeak's attack.

"Gee, Harry! I really hope we're studying Hypogriffs in Care of Magical Creatures today!" Ron shouted, in an overly loud voice. "Maybe Malfoy'll get to ride on one of them this time!"

Reminding myself that I already had three hours of detention today, I took a deep breath and carried on walking.

Dear Steve,

Today's detention was even worse. It'd actually started off pretty good, but in a flash everything went downhill.

"This room is filthy. Disgusting and filthy."

"Afternoon to you to! And a speck of dust on one of the filing cabinets is not disgusting and filthy. It's _normal_. Oh, I'm _terribly_ sorry. I forgot you had house elves attending to your every need at Malfoy Manor. Silly me."

"Yes, silly you." I repeated.

Another smile. Blimey – two in one day? That was a record.

"Have fun in Care of Magical Creatures then, did you?" Her voice went shaky as she held in her laughter. "That's right - I heard it's not exactly your favourite subject. Your friend Potter's been telling the entire school what happened. Not to mention the time Hermione Granger punched you. In the face. Oh, and the time you got snowballed in Hogsmeade!"

"Ha. Ha. Ha. I'm _dying_ with laughter on the inside. Care of Magical Creatures was _OK_, I suppose." I muttered. I always hated that lesson. "What about you? How's your day been?"

"OK, I guess. Had double Potions…yawn."

"Potions is quite a good subject in my opinion."

"Yeah, that's because Professor Snape loves you," she pointed out. It was a fair argument. Snape did favour me over other students. For example…HARRY POTTER! IN HIS FACE!

I restarted the conversation. "So…what are you planning on doing when you leave Hogwarts?" I'd asked.

"I'm only in my third year! But I'm starting to think I'd like to be an Auror. What about you?"

"Not sure really. My father's pretty much got my future planned out for me." Father was always telling me what to do. It's crazy.

"So…you're going to be like him?"

"What? Work in the Ministry? Yeah, probably. I mean-"

"No." She interrupted. "Your Dad. He doesn't just work for the Ministry of Magic, does he?"

I knew what she was talking about. I knew exactly what she was talking about. But that was the Malfoy family business. She was talking about my father's Death Eater-ness. No-one had ever talked to me about that. Ever.

I looked away. "I…don't know what you're talking about."

"I think you _do_ know. But…you still didn't answer my question." She replied.

"Well I don't know, do I? How am I supposed to know if I'll even wake up tomorrow? Let alone become a Death…I mean, one of _them_." My throat was dry. My heart was nearly beating right out of my chest. Nobody had ever asked me that question. Not even my _mother_, who I'd known my entire life.

"But…you don't _want_ to be like your father, do you?" She asked.

"Of course I don't want to be one of them. Who would?"

"So what are you going to do?"

"I don't know, Astoria, I really don't know. So many questions. Who am I going to choose? Which side?"

"There are only _two_ sides to choose from and it's obvious which one you should choose." She muttered.

"I know."

"Then why are you choosing wrong?" Her voice was starting to get louder.

"This conversation," I nearly shouted, not meaning to be so loud, "ends _right_ here." Why was I getting so worked up about this? Astoria and I were barely friends, so what came next totally surprised me…

"Fine! This _friendship_ ends here, too, then."

"Friendship? What friendship?" I ordered. "I've barely known you for _five minutes_! And you're already talking about me becoming a…becoming one of them when I've never even talked to my own mother about it!"

"Honestly, you are just like the rest of your family! You'll just never give in, will you? Here I am, trying to be a good friend and trying to convince you that what you're going to choose is wrong, and you just explode in my face!"

"Well perhaps if you stopped talking when I told you to, we wouldn't be arguing right now, would we?" I snapped.

She sighed and swallowed. "I was right - like father, like son."

"How many times are you going to say that? I'm not like him!"

"YES YOU ARE!" She yelled.

BANG!

Ouch…

She slapped me. SHE _**SLAPPED**_ ME!

On my face! ON MY _**FACE**_! SHE SLAPPED ME ON MY FACE!

I felt a burning pain on my left cheek. How had I _not_ seen that coming? I have to admit – I _did _sort of deserve it.

And for the second time in twenty four hours, the stomped out of Filch's office, leaving me confused. I let out a sharp breath and realised just how hard she'd hit me.

Everything was just a blur. That girl was seriously confusing – talk about extreme mood swings!

Seriously…what just happened?


	4. Brave Face

**Chapter Four – Brave Face**

Dear Steve,

Do you ever get that feeling where you just want to CRY? Oh…course you don't, you're a BOOK! A lifeless book that has no feelings whatsoever!

Now don't get any funny ideas – I didn't want to cry because of the argument I had last night in detention. Merlin, no! It takes more to make Draco Malfoy cry. Like, say…being _HUMILIATED_ in front of the _ENTIRE SCHOOL_ thanks to a certain _PROFESSOR MOODY_?

Well, I was looking on the bright side. I learnt something new today – ferrets sweat _milk_. Most of you could say that you've lived your entire life as a human; Muggle or not. But not me. I'd just spent a small fraction of my life as a small, furry rodent. A _ferret_, in particular.

"My father and I have a bet, you see." I'd said to Potter. "I don't think you'll last ten minutes in this competition. He disagrees – he reckons you won't last _five_!"

Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you. The Triwizard Tournament has come to Hogwarts. Why they wanted to host something like that in _this_ filthy place, I had no idea. The Triwizard Tournament was an extremely famous competition, where three students from different schools competed in three dangerous tasks for eternal glory. It was a total mystery – only students over the age of seventeen could enter the competition, but somehow Harry Potter had chosen from Hogwarts, along with Cedric Diggory from Hufflepuff. From the Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, Fleur Delacour had been chosen and from the Durmstrang Institute of Magic, Viktor Krum.

Anyway, Harry Potter had looked extremely aggravated already, so I decided to annoy him even more. And then came the explosion.

"I DON'T GIVE A DAMN WHAT YOUR FATHER THINKS, MALFOY!" He yelled. "He's violent and cruel…and you're just _pathetic_."

Yeah, he crossed the line there.

"Pathetic?" I drew my wand and probably would've done some damage to him, but then Professor Moody came and interrupted, shouting something so quickly I couldn't quite catch it. The next thing I knew, everything around me was giant and had gotten twenty times louder. I looked at down and saw that my hands had been replaced with…_**PAWS**_! THE HORROR!

I SWEAR THIS WAS ILLEGAL! HE SHOULD GET FIRED FOR THIS!

"You're **STINKIN'**!" He shouted. He got out his own wand and I felt myself being lifted up into the air and back down again. Up and down, up and down. Students were gathering round as if it was some kind of freak show. He could've at least chosen a cooler animal…like a snake. Or something that _wasn't_ a ferret. He probably would've carried on going if McGonagall didn't find him.

"Professor Moody, is that a student?" She shrieked, watching me bounce up and down. I suddenly had a craving to start eating the grass. Ugh! I needed to change back immediately.

"Technically, it's a ferret!" He corrected. And with a wave of her wand she changed me back to my normal self.

I ran off before he had a chance to transform me into a guinea pig or something. "MY FATHER'LL HEAR ABOUT THIS!" I yelled before I ran off.

"THINK I'M SCARED OF YOUR _FATHER_, MALFOY?"

"Professor Moody, that is quite enough!" McGonagall said. And that was all I heard as I retreated to the Slytherin common room. Seriously, a ferret? An animal that sweated _milk_? That ate the grass that people _walked_ on? I shuddered in disgust. That man was _**sick**_.

I was in a state of depression when I got back. I'd been playing the argument back in my head all day. "Then why are you choosing wrong?" She'd shouted. That was the worst part of it all. I didn't want to be under that kind of pressure. Voldemort was still pretty much powerless, but anyone with half a brain knew that he was rising again. Then I'd have to choose.

In fact, what was I talking about? I already knew what was going to happen. I'd be forced to choose wrong, wouldn't I? I'd never actually thought this through before. Ever.

My lessons for the day had finished. I didn't feel like eating anything, so I stayed in the common room while the rest of the Slytherins went down to the Great Hall for dinner. I sat down in one of the armchairs in the corner of the common room and shut my eyes, trying to calm myself down and relax, and then I soon faded into a deep sleep…

_I was stood in a dark, circular room. There was no light except that of which radiated from a roaring blaze in the fireplace. I looked into the inferno and bit my lip, waiting…_

_Waiting for what, I didn't know. Just waiting for something to happen. I didn't know how long I was stood there, looking at the fire, but it was a long time. I was lost deep in my own thoughts. There was suddenly a gust of cold, bitter wind and someone burst through the mahogany double-doors behind me. A cold, slow drawl came from behind me. I instantly put the face to the voice in my head._

"_Draco Malfoy…" I turned to see him. I was stood in front of the most powerful dark wizard that ever lived. I was stood in front of Lord Voldemort._

_I swallowed, waiting for him to say something else. He walked towards me. No, he didn't walk. He glided in a serpentine, snake-like way. His cold slits for eyes never left me. I tried not to look into them._

"_Let me see it. Now." He whispered. I knew what he wanted to see. The Dark Mark. __**His**__ mark._

_Suddenly I found it hard to keep my balance. My legs went shaky and I tried to speak, but no sound came from my mouth. Instead, I pulled up the sleeve of my jacket and let him see it. He took hold of my wrist. His hands were cold – no, they were freezing. He had a vice-like grip in my hand and he pulled me closer towards him so that he could take a closer look at the mark on the inside of my arm. His finger marks were still pressed into my skin when he let go, but soon faded. He tutted under his breath._

"_I hope you won't disappoint me, Draco," His icy voice sent a shiver down my spine. I was soon going to collapse under the pressure, I was sure of it._

"_Don't worry," I replied…_

Then I woke up with a gasp. I leant forward in my chair and thought about the dream I'd just had. I blinked as my vision was blurry. My head pounded and my entire body ached as I tried to get up out of the chair. I was fifteen minutes late for the detention. I made my way to the small mirror behind the chair I was asleep in. I looked terrible. I'd never looked so dark in my life. Dark circles surrounded my eyes. Even my nearly-white hair had lost some of its radiance.

I yawned and made my way to Filch's office sleepily. Other students were making their way to their common rooms. And then I spotted something bright red. What was it? A Phoenix swooping above the crowd of people? Oh, my mistake – it was just Ronald Weasley's hair.

"OH MY GOSH, HARRY! LOOK, THERE HE IS – THE AMAZING BOUNCING FERRET!" He yelled above all the noise. He waggled his finger in my direction but I sort-of slapped it out of my face.

"And there was me, thinking ferrets were friendly creatures." He muttered to Potter.

"Listen Weasel," I said when I couldn't take it any more, "any other day and I could handle your stupid, insignificant comments! But seriously, not today, so please just leave me alone." I felt really angry for no apparent reason.

The dream must've shaken me. But that was all it was – just a dream, nothing more. It wasn't like it was about to come true, was it?

I pushed past them and walked into Filch's office. Astoria was already in there, polishing some kind of trophy.

"Where've _you_ been?" She muttered. She turned around. "Merlin, you look _dreadful_."

"Evening to you too." I mumbled.

She didn't reply. Hmmm, talk about _awkward_! With a capital A!

Ugh…I couldn't take this silence any longer. "So…I was thinking about what you said yesterday."

"Really?" She said so quietly it was almost incoherent.

"Yes, and…I just wanted to say…" Uh-oh…what had I just got myself into? Was I – Draco Malfoy – going to _apologize_?

"Say what?"

"Sorry! I'm sorry, OK? You're right…I don't want to choose wrong, I really don't! It's just that…oh, I don't actually know! I'm just sorry. You were just trying to be a good friend and convince me to do what's right and I just started shouting at you. I didn't mean to," I babbled, "but it's just that I've never actually spoken to anyone about it before. I've thought about it, but never like this and…and I'm scared." This was just excellent. First I apologize to her, and then I tell her I'm scared. Now I felt tears pricking in my eyes. Was I going to go the whole hog and _cry_, too? Great!

No, I wouldn't. I had nothing to cry about anyway, so I don't know why I was getting so worked up about everything.

"You know, it's…it's OK to be scared sometimes. I know you're a Malfoy and everything and that you're supposed to put on a brave face but…how are you supposed to do that all the time? It's impossible." She said.

"No it isn't."

"It is! Sometimes you just have to face the facts. And the fact right now is that you're scared and obviously upset about what I said," she started, "I didn't mean what I said about you being like your father yesterday. I was just…upset."

"Upset?" I repeated. "Why were _you_ upset? You're probably going to leave Hogwarts and become an Auror and get married and have a family of your own!" I felt a stab of jealousy then. What the hell was happening to me? I was completely losing the plot! "A happy ending! That's what's going to happen to you!"

"You never know. And I was upset because of what you are and what you're going to become! It could happen sooner than you think, you know. He's getting more and more powerful every single day and one day everything's going to change. You have to choose! Who do you want to be? Do you want to be Draco or just another Malfoy? A normal kid or just the next in a whole line of Death Eaters? All I want is for you to choose what's right!"

"Fine…if that's how you feel." I whispered.

"No, I…I didn't mean it like that!"

"It doesn't matter how you meant it."

"But I-"

"Just forget it. Just…forget it." I interrupted. The next two hours crept by extremely slowly. Neither of us said anything and when they were over, I made sure she was gone before I came out of Filch's office and then returned to the common room…

I woke with a start. My heart seemed to be thumping right out of my chest. I had no idea why it was going so fast. I don't think it had ever gone that fast in my life.

There was an odd smell drifting around the dormitory. I didn't know the time, but it must've been late, because all the other guys were still completely zonked.

It took me a few minutes to detect it, but eventually I realized that it was a sort of smoky smell. I breathed it in a couple of times and started coughing. My eyes began to sting as I looked at the door to the dorm. Thick grey smoke covered the floor. I climbed out of my bed and walked towards the door, wondering what the hell was going on. I reached for the doorknob. It was red-hot and left a huge burn on my palm. My heart beat even faster. And then I heard the voice. Someone was screaming - a girl. And I knew that voice all too well…


	5. Into The Inferno

**Chapter Five – Into the Inferno**

I looked at the burn on my hand. The hot metal had completely scalded my hand. It was completely scorched, but I had no time to dwell over the pain. Not when I could hear those screams and yells in the background. _Her_ screams. Astoria's screams. Yells that would've sickened the devil himself.

I was no longer breathing in air, but smoke. My throat soon became sore as I tried to break open the door. I couldn't touch the doorknob with my hand as I'd get burned again, and my hand was already completely charred already. I tried kicking it open but it was no use. I drew my wand. "BOMBARDA MAXIMA!" I yelled, shortly before covering my face with my arms to avoid the explosion. It was loud…deafeningly loud. Crabbe, Goyle and the others all woke at the sound of the explosion. I gasped at the sight behind the door. Huge – no, _abnormally_ huge – flames licked the Slytherin girls' dorm door.

"GOYLE!" I shouted over the roar of the flames. "GET HELP NOW! GET DUMBLEDORE! THE REST OF YOU, GET OUT!"

"But, Malfoy-" Crabbe yelped.

"I SAID GET OUT! NOW! GOYLE, GO!" They all ran out of the dorm and I heard Goyle shouting downstairs in the common room. I covered my face with my arm and ventured forward.

The flames were about fifteen feet high. Yellow, red and some of them were even blue. They towered over me. Everything around me was ablaze. I had no idea what I was going to do. All I was focusing on was making sure I got Astoria out alive. I couldn't wait any longer or I'd be trapped. "AGUAMENTI!" I yelled over the roar of the blaze. A powerful jet of water shot out of the tip of my wand, but was no match for the fifteen-foot-high flames. The normally-white ceiling had gone completely black and I was sure it was going to collapse on me if I didn't hurry up.

I shoved my wand back in my pocket and decided I'd have to do it non-magically. My eyes began to sting and started watering – and not just because of the toxic smoke. This wasn't going to work. I was just some fourteen year old kid. These flames were going to frazzle me. I was probably going to die tonight.

But even if I died, I wanted to make sure she didn't.

I quickly scanned the hallway for even a fraction of it that hadn't been hit by the inferno yet. Suddenly, as if someone had cleared a passageway especially for me, the two hugest flames parted. My time was limited – they soon began to rejoin so I leapt through them just in time. A split-second later and the two enormous flames had joined together again. I'd gotten to the door of the girls' dorm. The screams started getting louder. "HELP! SOMEBODY HELP ME!" The shrieks made my heart thump louder and faster. I was trying not to inhale the any of it but I was surrounded by a cloud of thick, grey smoke. It was getting harder and harder to breath. I couldn't do this any longer. I started to panic.

"BOMBARDA MAXIMA!" I shouted again. Once again, there was a huge explosion as the door shot into a thousand parts and flew everywhere. The glass doorknocker shattered into a million shards of tiny glass, some of them cutting my face and drawing blood.

Inside the dormitory was even worse. Flames crackled on every single surface possible. Doubt swelled up inside me. I wasn't going to get out here, was I? And where the hell was Goyle with help? Knowing him, he'd probably been distracted by a muffin or something.

I skimmed the room for Astoria. I couldn't find her behind the huge flames. "ASTORIA? WHERE ARE YOU?" She'd never be able to hear me. The roar of the inferno was too loud for her to hear me. That's it – it was desperation time.

I found a small patch of the dorm that wasn't completely covered with flames. It was a long jump to get there, but I reckoned I could do it. I jumped as far as I could and stumbled as I landed. My right leg scorched with a pain I'd never felt before in my life. The flames burnt my skin as I quickly moved into the small patch of the dorm that hadn't yet been attacked by the flames. I was now in the middle of the dormitory.

Another quick scan for her. "ASTORIA! WHERE ARE YOU?" It was hurting my throat to yell this loud now, but it was the only way. My leg was shaking, I couldn't stand on it any longer. The pain was immense. I'd never felt anything like it before in my entire life, and don't think I ever will.

I was beginning to get dizzy. I couldn't pass out here. Not now. I'd come way too far to just give in. My breaths were short but they kept me going, only just. Then I spotted her. I gasped and hoped she was only unconscious, nothing worse. She was laid down on one of the beds in the girls dorm. Suddenly I didn't care about if it would hurt. I leapt through the flames and lifted her up. I felt her wrist for a pulse.

Nothing.

I wiped the tears from my eyes. "Astoria, wake up. Wake up!"

Nothing.

I panicked as I looked around. She couldn't be dead. She just couldn't. Flames completely surrounded us. There was no other way out but the door. I couldn't do anything else but run for it. If I did it quickly, it wouldn't hurt as much.

So I ran. My skin got completely scorched but I really didn't care. I could barely stand up, but I was out of that dormitory. That was the main thing. Now I just had to get to the common room. _Just down a few stairs, Draco, _I thought to myself, _just get down those stairs and you'll be alright. You'll be fine. You'll both be OK._

So I ran down the stairs. Just in time as well – inside the dorm there was an enormous explosion of flames. If I'd stayed in there another second, we'd both be dead.

What was I talking about? I couldn't even detect a pulse. I couldn't help thinking it was all my fault – if I'd woken up a few minutes earlier, she'd be alive. If only I'd acted quicker…

I'd managed to get down the stairs and into the common room, where the rest of the Slytherins were waiting anxiously. What were they all waiting for? Why weren't they out getting help from someone?

I collapsed as soon as I set foot in the common room. The whole room spun and I couldn't breathe properly. I tried to get up again but to no avail. I laid Astoria down gently before completely keeling over onto my side. The last thing I saw before completely blacking out were the faint figures of Madam Pomfrey and Professor Snape…

It was three days later when I woke up in the hospital wing. I woke up with Madam Pomfrey leaning over me waving her hand in my face.

"Oh, Mr Malfoy you gave us quite a shock there! What on Earth happened?"

"I…I don't know." I answered, trying to recall the night. "Where's Astoria? Is she OK?" I suddenly sat bolt upright and realised it was a really bad idea. The pain in both of my legs – from my knees down to my feet – hadn't left at all. I winced in pain.

"She's fine. We thought she'd…well, she didn't think she'd made it at first, but she's made a good recovery. She's rather distraught, though. Anyway, you'll be allowed out today but you'll have to use crutched to walk."

"Crutches?"

"A Muggle invention. I don't quite know what to give you so you'll have to just make a natural recovery, I'm afraid."

"Fine. Where's Astoria?" I slowly sat up and scanned the hospital wing for her.

"All right, all right, if you're that desperate to see her, I'll take you." She helped me out of the bed I was sat in and I placed my arms through those crutch things. What the hell were these?

I literally to hop behind Madam Pomfrey. I must've looked right stupid. We walked through the wing, where I saw Astoria sat in a chair in the corner of the wing, talking to Professor Dumbledore.

"Can you remember anything? Anything at all?" Dumbledore asked her. She shook her head. "Ah, Mr Malfoy. I have to say, your actions were extremely brave and gallant. I don't know if you'll ever be repaid. You do know that you could've died last night, don't you?"

I nodded. "Yes, sir."

I looked at Astoria. There were a few small burns on the side of her face. She gave me a little nod. Dumbledore looked back at her. "Tell us anything you can remember."

"Well," she began, "all I can remember was that it was quite late, around one in the morning. And…I heard someone coming into the dormitory. I looked up and there was a man stood over me."

"Did he tell you his name? Anything at all?"

"He said his name was…_Wormtail_…"


	6. Cruciatus

**Chapter Six – Cruciatus**

I'd never seen Dumbledore look so shocked. Normally he held in his emotions. He was usually very calm and serene.

He nodded at Astoria, who looked extremely tired. "Very well. Madam Pomfrey, would like to keep this two in the hospital for a while or will they be dismissed soon?"

"Well, they're both free to go." She said, looking pretty shaken herself. What was going on? Who the hell was _Wormtail_? I looked from Madam Pomfrey to Professor Dumbledore.

"Off you go then, you two. Pip, pip," Dumbledore said quietly as Madam Pomfrey helped Astoria out of her seat. We walked out of the hospital wing together. Madam Pomfrey and Professor Dumbledore watched us as we left. These crutches were really getting on my nerves. They really were rather odd contraptions. They looked quite lethal actually. They could do some serious damage to Potter and has friends, though.

I walked out of the hospital wing and stopped, listening. Listening to what Dumbledore was saying. It sounded pretty serious. "What are you doing, Draco?" Astoria asked from behind me. Did she think I was just going to back to the Slytherin common room and pretend nothing had happened? Not likely.

I didn't answer, just kept listening. She repeated her question but I turned round and faced her. I held my finger to my lips, silently telling her to keep quiet.

"Wormtail? You mean-" Madam Pomfrey started.

"Yes, Poppy, _him_. I have no idea how he got into Hogwarts or what his purpose was." Dumbledore replied. "But one thing's for sure – that fire was most certainly not an accident."

"What do you mean, Albus?"

"I'm not quite sure about anything yet, Poppy," he said, "All I know is that Wormtail is one of Voldemorts' most loyal followers, as is Draco's father. For all we know, Voldemort could be trying to lure Draco into his clan of Death Eaters."

"But…he's _powerless_, Albus! And Draco is just a boy. What good could he do for the most powerful dark wizard in history?"

"That's what I'm worried about. No-one has a clue about what Voldemort is planning on doing."

"Well…this has nothing to do with the fire. Why would he try to lure him into his group of Death Eaters by almost exploding him to pieces?"

I heard Dumbledore sigh. My heart was racing…I couldn't believe what I was hearing. It was completely ridiculous, wasn't it?

"Perhaps Voldemort was trying – or rather, going to try – to force Draco into becoming a Death Eater by blackmail…by hurting something, or someone, important to him." Dumbledore suggested.

"But he's barely known Astoria for five minutes. They can't be that important to each other, can they?"

"Anybody with half a brain can see there's something between them, Poppy. I'm sure you can see it, too. This is Draco we're talking about – he wouldn't risk his life for just anybody. You know that as much as I do." My eyebrows shot up. Just _who_ did they think they were?

But I had to admit; it was true.

No! I did not have _feelings_ for her. I didn't know anything _about_ her! How can you have feelings for someone you don't even know?

But I couldn't even convince _myself_ of that.

I was lost in my own train of thoughts when I heard a door slam. At first I panicked and thought it was Dumbledore coming out of the hospital wing, but when he didn't emerge, I looked around for Astoria and, yes…you guessed right. She was gone. I think she had a habit of storming off like that.

I stayed. The conversation went on.

"So what are we to do, Albus?"

"We wait. We wait and see what happens."

"That's it? That's what you're going to do? Just watch one of your students be lured into Voldemorts' group of followers?" She hissed, keeping her voice low.

"That's all I can do. That, and hope for the best. We'll finish this conversation later." I heard footsteps coming my way so I got out of the corridor as fast as I could.

If I thought that my day couldn't get any worse, I was wrong. Sat in the same armchair I fell asleep in yesterday, I watched Pansy Parkinson stroll into the Slytherin common room. She selected a seat opposite me.

"Draco, are you alright?"

"Splendid." I replied sarcastically. What did she expect? Did she want me to be all bright and cheerful after my life nearly went up in flames?

She sighed. "Why did you do that?"

"Do what?" I said irritably. Why wouldn't she just leave me alone?

"Nearly die saving her life?"

"Well what did you want me to do? Leave her there to die?"

"No, but…why did it have to be you saving her? You could've got someone else." She said meekly.

"Well there weren't exactly crowds of people waiting to save her! Pansy I barely got out alive…if I waited any longer we'd _both_ be dead! Or is that what you wanted?" I snapped.

"No…of course not! I just don't think-"

"No, you _don't_ think!" I got up out of my seat a little too quickly and made for the door.

"Where are _you_ going?" She ordered.

"Detention." And I slammed the door behind me. She was so _frustrating_! Why couldn't she just leave me alone?

As I walked – no, hopped – to Filch's office, I wondered if Astoria would show up or not after the conversation we'd heard between Dumbledore and Madam Pomfrey. What would I say to her if she _was_ there? I couldn't exactly just walk up to her and say "Oh, hi Astoria. Fancy seeing you here! By the way, what Dumbledore was saying about me having "feelings" for you is a total lie. You're just a friend. OK, thanks, bye." could I?

I opened the door to Filch's office and…

"_PETRIFICUS TOTALUS_!" Someone shouted. My whole body suddenly went stiff and I fell to the ground. A man – or it could've been a woman – dressed in a long black cloak and wearing a face mask towered over me. He lifted me up with ease and threw a piece of black material over my face, and that was the last I saw…

…..

I felt myself being dropped down to the ground. I winced in pain as I hit the hard ground. I opened my eyes and sat up, feeling a little better that I was able to _move_ again. "Stand up! Stand up now!" Someone ordered. I sat up. I recognized the voice – Igor Karkaroff, Headmaster at the Durmstrang Institute. What the hell was he doing here?

I stood up, looking around. I didn't recognize the place. It was freezing cold and there was a bitter wind blowing eastwards. There were about twenty of us altogether. It was dark – it must've been very late. We were in the middle of a huge forest. Twenty foot-high trees towered over us and a blanket of fog lay upon the treetops. The only light in the entire glade radiated from the moon, which was full tonight. Not even the light of the stars got through the thick fog that surrounded us.

"Why have you brought me here? What do you want?" I ordered, looking at everyone. I recognized a few more – Crabbe Sr. and Goyle Sr. but that was all.

Karkaroff snarled at me, as did the rest of them. And then the penny dropped…

Death Eaters. Lots of them.

"It's not a matter of what we want, but what we _need_." I heard a very, _very_ familiar voice as I watched someone emerge from the tangle of undergrowth.

"Aunt Bellatrix." I muttered. "Why am I here?"

"Don't you want to be here?" She hissed. "You're with your family now."

"This _isn't_ my family!"

"Yes, it is. We can offer you so much more…protection, safety…"

"What do you _want_ from me?" I said again, louder this time.

"Join us, Draco, that's all we want." She replied.

"I'll never join _you_! Never!" I yelled. I was scared. Really scared. The nerves were taking over me. I had to get out of here as fast as possible. Astoria's voice echoed in my head. "_Then why are you choosing wrong_?"

"I think," Bellatrix carried on, "you will. BRING HER TO ME!" She screamed. Almost instantly, as if it had all been rehearsed, two Death Eaters emerged with a vice-like grip on Astoria.

My heart skipped a beat. Why the hell had they brought her here? I let out a sharp breath.

"Let her go! Let her go now!"

"Not until you join us, Draco! Decisions, decisions!" Bellatrix yelped. Why did she enjoy this? Tears began forming in my eyes, but no matter what I wouldn't let them all see me cry. I wouldn't!

"What…what do you want me to do?"

"That's better. Good boy, Draco, you're father would be proud." She said, her black eyes sparkling. "As you're aware, _Harry Potter_ has been chosen for the Triwizard Tournament and we need you to help lure him into the Dark Lord's grasp."

They wanted me to help get Potter to Voldemort? That's what they wanted from me? How was I supposed to do that!

"You…I _can't_." I said.

"Fine," Bellatrix turned and faced Astoria, "such a pretty girl, aren't you? Pity…" She drew her wand. The Death Eaters on either side of her pushed her down to the ground. "CRUCIO!"

Astoria's screams echoed through the night sky. I couldn't bear it, seeing her in pain. I panicked as Bellatrix yelped with laughter. How could she enjoy this? Murdering people? Torturing people? Watching them scream in pain? Innocent people who'd done nothing to her.

"STOP!" I yelled before I could stop myself. Bellatrix ended the spell and turned to face me again while Astoria whimpered in pain behind her. "I'll do it. Just…just leave her alone." I swallowed.

"Now isn't that sweet?" Bellatrix mocked. The rest of the Death Eaters laughed with her. "In love, are we? Bless…" She got a strong hold of Astoria's arm and pulled her up to her feet and then pushed her towards me. Her blue eyes looked black and pupil-less in the dark. In the light of the moon I saw tears streaming down her face. She sniffed. Why was my own aunt doing this to me?

"Go on then Draco, tell her how you feel." Bellatrix smiled evilly. A cold, bitter sneer. She pushed Astoria further towards me. We were very close now. I felt and saw her body rising and falling as she breathed quickly, her pulse going as fast as mine. I looked down. I couldn't face her. Neither of them.

"He can't even face her. Pity…" She hissed. I looked back up and suddenly Bellatrix seized hold of my arm and dragged me away, while two other Death Eaters had hold of Astoria.

"What do you want now?" I demanded. "Where are we going?"

"Do you want to stay here forever? Thought not. We're taking you back to Hogwarts."

"How? You can't Apparate into Hogwarts."

"There are advantages to being the Dark Lord's most loyal follower," she yelped. I didn't understand why she was always so _loud_. She took hold of my arm and the next thing I knew, we were in the Astronomy tower.

"You'll tell nobody of what happened tonight." She whispered in my ear, her breath sending a tremble down my spine. "Be here tomorrow at nine sharp. Otherwise I could snap your neck in less than two seconds flat."

Astoria, along with the two Death Eaters, appeared at my side almost as soon as Bellatrix disappeared. The Death Eaters both snarled at me and then disappeared into the night. Astoria's breaths were sharp and quick. "Thank you."

I tried to speak but couldn't find the words. I was shell-shocked. "For what?"

"Saving my life. Twice. I didn't thank you the first time." I watched her wipe tears off her face. Her hair was plastered to her forehead with blood. I edged towards her as a strong gust of wind blew our way. I didn't know what was motivating me to walk towards her. It seemed as if my feet had a life of their own and were driving me towards her. Her clothes, I noticed as I got closer to her, were stained with blood. My hand reached out towards her and I moved her hair away from her face. Confusion registered on her face. She was probably thinking the same as me: _What the hell are you doing, Draco_? But she didn't move away. She flung her arms around my neck and _hugged_ me.

Wow.

My heart raced faster than ever now. I was definitely not expecting that. And I definitely didn't expect myself to hug her back either.

It felt…odd. Like…nothing I'd felt before. Thousands of volts sizzled around us, as if we were an electric circuit. Adrenaline ran through my veins. Adrenaline…but didn't that only happen when you were doing something you weren't supposed to?

Well, our families didn't particularly _like_ each other. Maybe that was it.

She pulled away. "I…we should go."

"Uh…yeah. You go, I'll…I'll be down in a minute. Gotta check something." She gave a discrete nod and disappeared from the Astronomy tower, leaving me completely bamboozled.

I swallowed, replaying back the night. I tried to forget about the Astoria's horrific screams when Bellatrix had used the Cruciatus Curse on her. They were echoing around in my head, but the more I tried to forget them, the louder they got…


	7. Blood and Water

**Chapter Seven – Blood and Water**

Confusion.

Anger.

Major depression.

See those? Yeah, they're just a few words to describe the emotions whirring around in my head. And to make matters worse, Professor McGonagall had just dropped a major bombshell on us. Oh, the horror…

"The Yule Ball," she began, "is a traditional ceremony that takes place when a school hosts the Triwizard Tournament." Most people were half asleep, but completely snapped out of their zombie-like demeanour when they heard her say…

"The Yule Ball is first – and foremost – a dance."

EXCELLENT!

I'd already had enough drama for an entire lifetime last night in the forest. And the Astronomy Tower…

Greif and terror swelled up inside me. I hadn't a clue what to expect tonight…Was Bellatrix going to be there? And if she was, what did she want?

Sigh. I was going round in circles. These thoughts were getting me nowhere. All they were doing were getting me into a bigger tizz than before.

I vowed to myself that I wouldn't let her trick me into anything tonight. I'd made a deal and intended to keep it – to get Potter to Voldemort somehow. And that was it. After that I had no business with Bellatrix and her Death Eater friends.

No-one would get hurt tonight, either. Especially…well, you get the picture.

This was really doing my head in. So, yeah, I hated Potter and everything, but I didn't want to hand him over the most powerful dark wizard that ever lived without hesitation…nobody deserved that, not even _him_.

And that's saying something.

I shook with terror throughout all of my lessons, hardly speaking to anybody. Normally I'd be laughing and joking with Crabbe and Goyle, not to mention annoying the hell out of Potter and his mates, but I was so afraid of what was ahead of me in the Astronomy Tower tonight…

Dumbledore noticed there was something wrong and called me to his office before I went to my detention. I knew exactly what it was about. I knew exactly what he was going to say.

"Do sit down, Mr Malfoy. Would you like something to drink?"

I shook my head. "No, sir."

"Very well." He began. "Draco, I can't help noticing that you've been quite distant today. Are you alright?" He gave me a look of concern which might've meant something, but might not have. He usually saved that look for Potter and his friends.

Oops. I probably shouldn't have said that. I felt a knot of fear being tied in my stomach and my head began to pound.

"Fine, sir."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, sir. Why wouldn't I be?"

"No reason." Dumbledore sat forward in his chair, looking straight into my eyes. There was a look on his old, wrinkled face that made it extremely hard to lie about everything. "Just making sure there's nothing wrong with you."

"There's nothing." I shook my head briefly.

There was a silence for about ten seconds. "How is Miss Greengrass?" Dumbledore asked, out of the blue.

"Oh, she's…she's fine. She's OK." I nodded.

"She seemed a little insecure today. Any idea what could be wrong with her?"

'_Oh yeah, _plenty_ of ideas. It could be the fact that my aunt Bellatrix nearly _killed_ her using the Cruciatus curse on her. Then again, it _could_ be that as confused as I am about nearly _dying_ in a fire. Oh, and another one, we both haven't got a _clue_ how we feel about each other. They _could_ be good answers_,' I thought. Too bad I didn't say it.

"No, sir. Sorry." Was what I came out with instead.

"I seemed to notice that you two have been getting along rather well lately."

I nodded. "Well we…we just…"

"If it's a personal matter than I'll leave it there. But if there is anything you want to talk about, don't be afraid."

I opened my mouth to start talking again, but stopped myself just in time. Was I really going to tell Dumbledore everything?

Answer: yes.

"I just feel like…everything's so complicated. Like I don't know what I feel any more."

"Is this still to do with Astoria…or something else?"

Tough question. I couldn't exactly say, "_Yes sir. It's about me trying to get Harry Potter into the cunning and bloodthirsty hands of Lord Voldemort_," now could I?

"Astoria. I…she's…it's complicated." I sighed. I couldn't believe I was having a heart-to-heart with _Albus Dumbledore_. I was definitely going crazy.

"Every relationship is complicated, Draco." Dumbledore replied.

My eyebrows shot up. "R-Relationship?"

"Well…are you saying that she and you are just friends?"

"Well…I don't know."

"Exactly. That's what I mean by complicated. "Now, is there anything else you want to tell me? Anything at all?"

It was so hard. So hard to lie.

There was a sudden knock at the door. My heart rate began to slow down at the sound. Thank god for that. If whoever was at the door had knocked a second later, Dumbledore would've probably known everything.

McGonagall. She was a life-saver.

"Oh, there you are, Mr Malfoy! I've looked everywhere for you! What're you doing in here? I'm sure Professor Dumbledore has some important business to take care of," she said breathlessly, as if she'd been running.

I opened my mouth to protest, but Dumbledore beat me to it. "Not at all, Minerva. I, myself, invited Draco up here."

"Well, you may have forgotten but I am here to remind you that you have a detention starting now. Go on, off you go." She shooed me out of the room and I sighed as I made my way to Filch's office.

…

I peered around the open door of the office, making sure there wasn't anyone in here again. I was scared to set foot in the office in case I got hexed into oblivion or something, but Astoria was in there and looked perfectly normal, so I decided it was safe.

"What on earth are you doing?" She smirked as she watched me creep into the room, questioning every step I took.

"Not letting my guard down. _That's_ what I'm doing." I muttered. "Because if you don't remember, we both could've been killed last night!"

"I'm…sorry about last night. You know…with Bellatrix and everything."

"Whatever. Just forget about it."

We went in silence for about half an hour. '_Well this is awkward_…' I thought to myself.

"Ouch!" I suddenly heard her hiss. I whirled round to see what had happened but facing away from me.

"What's up?" I asked warily.

"My arm…it just started bleeding." She turned round and showed me. Her left arm was covered in blood. She suddenly gave a loud shriek and fell to her knees as a pool of blood appeared on her right arm and stained the top she was wearing.

I was petrified – couldn't move, couldn't think. I was rooted to the spot and was panicking, thinking of what I could do. Luckily, Professor Snape heard all the noise and came rushing in.

"What's all the racket in-" He began.

"Sir! Professor Snape! Help her, she…her arms…I don't know what happened!" Then it occurred to me. I checked the time.

Five past nine.

Snape, kneeled down next to Astoria doing some kind of spell, didn't notice me slip out of Filch's office. Bellatrix was probably waiting for me in the Astronomy Tower. I had to get up there as quick as I could.

"Just what time d'you call this? Simply not good enough, Draco."

"What are you doing to her?"

"Why? Does it hurt you to see her in pain? Now isn't that sweet!"

"Just tell me what you want so I can get out of here. Please," I said.

"Well if you were here fifteen minutes ago, you'd know what we wanted from you, wouldn't you? Looks like _you_ won't be late again, you pathetic, ungrateful child!" She yelped. I wasn't going to let her stupid insults get to me.

She shoved a piece of paper in my face with a list of ingredients on it. "Get these," she said, "from Snape's personal Potions store."

_**Polyjuice Potion:**_

_12 lacewing flies that have been stewed for 21 days_

_1 ounce of crude Antimony_

_4 leeches that have been "unsucculated"_

_16 scruples of fluxweed that was picked at full moon_

_3 drachms of pulverised Sal Ammoniac_

_Pulverised blades of knotgrass_

_1 pinch of powdered horn of a Bicorn that has been "lunar extracted"_

_Filings and rasplings of Saltpeter, Mercury and Mars_

_Shredded dried skin of a Boomslang_

"Bring the ingredients to me tomorrow or I'll do the exact same to your precious little girlfriend, only worse."

"Don't touch her! God, why can't you just leave her alone? She's done nothing to you!"

"Draco, Draco, Draco…I've done bad things to people as good as Saints! What makes you think I'll hesitate because it comes to someone you love?"

"I don't _love_ her!"

"Save it! Just make sure you've got the ingredients tomorrow. That's all I want from you. Or don't you have the stomach? Pathetic…just like Lucius."

And with that she Apparated out of the Astronomy Tower and I left right away.

_Bellatrix had a firm grip on Astoria, forceful and strong. Bellatrix pulled something out of her pocket, whipping it out so fast I couldn't see what it was. It was something shiny…that was all I saw._

"_What's she done to you? She hasn't done anything to hurt you!" I yelled at Bellatrix._

"_Mmmm," Bellatrix replied, not bothered at all._

_There was a flash of light as the light reflected on something metal in the palm of Bellatrix's hand. A knife._

_She seized Astoria's arm and dug the knife into her skin. She screamed in pain and tried to pull away but Bellatrix's grip was way too firm. She ran the knife further up Astoria's arm, penetrating the skin with blood emerging on the surface._

I woke with a gasp and clambered out of bed and out of the dormitory. Since the fire the Slytherin girls had been sleeping on the sofas in the common room. I had to check she was OK.

The Slytherin common room.

There was a knife on the floor, the exact same one I'd seen in the dream.

No Astoria.

My heart skipped a beat as I heard a voice behind me. "Draco what are you doing?" Astoria whispered, keeping her voice low.

"Oh, uh…nothing. Where were you?"

She frowned at me, looking puzzled. "I went to get a drink of water." She said as I picked up the knife, shoving it in my pocket before she could see it.

"What was that?" She grabbed my hand and took the knife.

"That is a letter-opener!" I stammered. She narrowed her eyes at me. "For extremely large letters!"

"A letter opener?"

I sighed. "No, I…I had a dream that…that Bellatrix attacked you with a knife and wanted to make sure you were OK…and I found this knife here." She put it back in my hand and nodded. Her skin was warm and soft. I looked down and slowly moved my hand away and she did the same, looking away. I thought it was a good time to change the subject.

"So what happened? Earlier today?"

"Snape did some kind of spell and healed me right away. I didn't even have to go to the hospital."

"Oh, well, that's great." I nodded. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah," she replied, "see you." I heard her say as I climbed the stairs back to the dorm…


	8. Weasley's Proposition

_**OK, guys, so this chapter isn't really that action-packed and all, but it's quite significant. Sorry! I know Chapter Seven was a little bit of a let down after Cruciatus, but there is plenty more action to come in Chapter Nine…like a huge fight scene! Hehe =D**_

_**Anyways, enjoy this…This chapter is dedicated to Naila…thanks for being the best "bro" ever :D**_

**Chapter Eight – Weasley's Proposition**

It was the night before the Yule Ball.

Every single Slytherin in the common room was talking about it. About who they were going with, what they were going to wear, blah, blah, blah…

I obviously avoided this ordeal. I wasn't going to the Yule Ball for two reasons:

I planned to sneak into Snape's private stores to get the Polyuice Potion ingredients for Bellatrix tomorrow night, while everyone was busy dancing or whatever.

I still had to use crutches to walk. They slowed me down terribly…the whole damn thing would be over by the time I arrived!

No-one noticed me sat there in my own little world…except for one person.

Three guesses who it was.

"What about you, Draco?" Pansy said, interrupting my thoughts.

"What? Hmm?" I looked up to see about ten people looking my way, expecting some sort of answer.

"Never mind…" She muttered, looking away.

I tried to go back to my thoughts about Bellatrix and everything that had happened, but Pansy had got me thinking. Who would I have asked to the Yule Ball if I had the chance?

Astoria.

Whether she said yes or no was something different entirely. I sighed…I shouldn't be wasting time thinking about this, I thought, I should be planning on getting into Snape's personal part of the dungeon. I'd never actually been in that part of the dungeon before, so I didn't actually know how to get there or what it looked like, so I decided to go for a "walk" and check it out.

And it would've gone perfectly well if it wasn't for Ronald Weasley.

"What're you doing down here in the dungeons, Malfoy?"

"I could say the same to you," I narrowed my eyes at him. The Slytherin common room was in the dungeons. He, on the other hand, had _no_ business here.

He scowled. "Snape gave me a detention because my Wit-Sharpening potion turned his toad a funny colour and then it threw up on him."

I tried. I really did try to hold in my laughter.

"What about you, Malfoy? What're you doing here?"

"Fancied a walk, I guess," I answered.

"Oh, and you ended up just down the corridor from Professor Snape's personal storeroom? Good cover, but not good enough. Why are you here?"

"I told you…fancied a stroll round the castle, that's all."

"Course you did…" I didn't know why he was still stood there. "If you're looking to get to Snape's personal storeroom, I know the way in." Ron shrugged.

"Why are you helping me? What's the catch?"

"I'm helping you because, well, if there's one person I hate more than you, it's _Snape. _And the catch is that you have to be my willing slave for the day," he replied smugly.

I weighed my options carefully, but decided it was worth it. As long as Bellatrix stayed away from us after I gave her what she wanted. "Fine! Just show me."

"Well you'll have to get me into the Slytherin common room first. There's a passage from there into the storeroom but it's really hard to find. But you'll have to make sure nobody sees me because they'll be wondering what the hell I'm doing with you." I nodded. "When everyone goes down to dinner tonight I'll meet you outside the common room, agreed?"

"Agreed."

Wow. I just made an alliance with a _Weasley_! I was shocked with myself. Absolutely shocked.

But it was worth it…

…

Ron left after that and I left for the Slytherin common room, relieved that I'd found a way to weasel my way in. I was hopping down the corridor, past Dumbledore's office, where I heard him talking. And someone was crying.

"I didn't mean to upset you, Astoria," Dumbledore said, "is there anything else you want to tell me?"

Oh, no…She'd told Dumbledore about Bellatrix.

"No, sir," she sniffed. "I'll go now, Professor."

She must've ran for the door at lightning speed, because she swung the door open and completely crashed into me.

"Hey, hey, what's wrong?" I asked. Her face was stained with tears and her eyes were red and puffy.

"It's just Dumbledore, he…he asked me what was wrong and I really didn't want to lie to him, but I knew I had to because you'd get into trouble," she replied, drying her eyes.

"What did you say to him?"

"Well, he asked me what was wrong and I said there was nothing up with me, and then he asked me if I knew what was wrong with _you_, and I told him I didn't know."

"And then?" I asked gently.

"Nothing, he didn't say anything to me after that."

"Don't lie to me. I'm sure _that's_ not why you've been crying your eyes out. He must've said something else."

"Nothing," she protested again.

"Well if you aren't going to tell me, I'll ask _him_ to."

"No! He…he asked me…"

"What? What did he ask you?" I demanded.

"It doesn't matter, Draco!"

"Tell me. Now! If he's upset you I want to know what he's said."

"Fine!" She said. "He asked me what…what my relationship was with you."

I instantly regretted asking.

Awkwaaaaaarrrddd…

Well, I hadn't seen that one coming.

"Oh," was all I could manage to say. So he'd asked both of us now – trying to weasel information out of her, too. "Astoria, I-"

I didn't know what I was going to say after that, but I was saved as the deafeningly loud bell for dinner rang. Thank god, because I probably would've said something really _stupid_. Like last night…a letter opener? Really! I could've done thought of something other than that! Or even better, I could've told her the truth straight away instead of trying to lie.

"What?"

"Nothing. Doesn't matter," I murmured.

She nodded, obviously wanting to change the subject. "Well I'll see you later."

"Bye." I replied, heading for the common room where I knew someone would be waiting…

…

"You took your time!" I said irritably as I saw Ron Weasley turn the corner of the corridor and walk towards me quickly.

"Sorry, got lost. I have only been here once, you know!"

"What? When?"

"Oh…never mind." Ron replied. "Get us in there then!"

"What? Oh, right." Ron rolled his eyes. "Pureblood."

The white wall slid open and revealed the steps to the common room. "Pureblood? That's the password?" Ron sniggered. His red hair clashed with the greenish light that glowed around the room.

"Don't blame me, blame Snape. He's the one who changes the password because, unless you didn't notice, we don't _have_ a nice, polite picture that talks to us and changes the passwords. We have a little bit of white wall to work with."

Ron was looking around the common room anxiously, as if he was waiting for something bad to happen. I clapped my hands in his face. "Hello? Earth to Weasel Bee! Get me into that damn storeroom now!"

"Alright, alright. Bloody hell, Malfoy, it isn't going to run away! Follow me…"

Blimey, he seemed to know his way round the Slytherin common room more than me! He walked up the stairs to the boys' dorm and stopped before he got to the door. He kneeled down and pulled back the green rug that was on the floor, revealing a square trap door.

"How'd you know this was here?" I ordered.

"Believe me, you know these things when your best girl mate is the cleverest in your year and your best guy mate is literally a magnet for trouble," Ron pulled open the trap door. I peered down it. The black abyss seemed to go on for ever. There was a long metal ladder that stretched down with it. "You're sure this goes to the storeroom?"

"Yeah. Positive. Go on then!"

"Aren't…aren't you coming?"

He sighed. "All right then! Bloody hell, Malfoy, you can be such a wimp!"

"Whatever." He didn't understand why I needed this so much. "So your Mudblood friend found this, then? Sorry…I meant your _Muggle-born_ friend." I rolled my eyes as I watched Ron start descending down the ladder.

"Yeah, actually she did! And don't you dare call her Mudblood." He muttered. I followed him down the tunnel, hoping and praying that Snape wasn't in there when we got down.

"Yeah, yeah, sorry."

"You know, if you actually got to know her, you might _actually_ like her! You've got one thing in common anyway…"

"What's that?"

"You're can both be a complete pain in the arse sometimes!" Ron laughed.

"Ha! Funny!" I said sarcastically. I suddenly felt my feet hit the ground. It was pitch black and I had no idea how Weasley knew where he was going. "Are we nearly there?" I droned.

"Bloody hell, Draco, calm down! What's got your wand in a knot?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," I muttered as Ron pushed open a door. Thousands upon thousands of tiny vials stood on wooden shelves. Potions for everything you could imagine. So this was the famous Severus Snape's storeroom. And I was _IN_!

"Try me."

"Doesn't matter. Do us a favour, help me find these ingredients." I shoved the piece of paper in his face.

He grunted in reply and took the paper off me as I searched the shelves for lacewing flies, whatever _they_ were.

We finished collecting the ingredients and were about to leave when we heard someone talking outside. It was none other than Professor Snape…

Somebody – Snape presumably – started fiddling with the locks outside. "Oh, God, that's it! Say hello to the next train ride home, Malfoy!" Ron squeaked. I slapped my hand on his mouth.

"Shut up!" I hissed. I nodded at one of the cabinets behind him. "Get behind there! Quick!" and I literally shoved him behind the cabinet. We held our breath and didn't say a word until we heard Professor Snape walking away.

"Thank god for that!" And of course, Ron started getting all happy and tried getting out of the small space we were squashed into and completely knocked the whole damn cabinet over, totally blocking both exits.

In other words, we were trapped. We had no way of getting out, and nobody else could get in. Excellent.

"RON!" I yelled. "WE HAVE NO WAY OF GETTING OUT! WHAT'D YOU DO THAT FOR?"

"It was an _accident_!"

"AAARRGGHHHH!"

…

Half an hour later, and I was still stuck.

"Going to the Yule Ball tomorrow then?" I murmured as Ron tried a levitation spell to try and shift the giant cabinet.

He gave up and sat down on the floor beside me, scowling. "Yes."

"With who?" I frowned.

"Padma Patil…" He muttered. "Not exactly my first choice."

"Well, Weasel Bee, you don't always get what you want, do you?"

"Guess not." He grunted. "Who're you going with?"

"No-one. Can't go. I can barely walk. That's why I let you go down the ladder first, so that if I fell you'd cushion my fall and you'd be the one who went splat, not me."

"Thanks!" Ron rolled his eyes. "Who would've been your first choice anyway?"

"Not telling you! You'd never believe me!"

"Go on, Malfoy. You tell me yours and I'll tell you mine."

"Fine…you go first." I said. Suddenly Ron's skin went from pale to the exact same shade of red as his hair.

He mumbled something incoherently. "Sorry, didn't hear that." I said.

"Hermione…"

"S'oryt Ron, the whole school knows you like her."

"Not everyone!" He protested. "You didn't answer the question, anyway. Go on, tell me yours."

I sighed. Why had I got myself into this? "Astoria." I mumbled.

"No!" Ron gasped in disbelief. "Astoria _Greengrass_? But she's like…a year younger than us."

"So?"

We were interrupted then. Suddenly, we were sitting before Albus Dumbledore, who had just Apparated into the storeroom. We stood up immediately and tried to explain, but he silenced us. "You will explain later. For now, take my arm." He held out both of his arms and we held on. I squeezed my eyes shut and when I opened them, we were in the entrance to the Great Hall, where everyone was stuffing their faces. I suddenly realised just how hungry I was. I nodded at Ron and went to join the Slytherins, while he went and sat with the Gryffindors.

I was just about to start my meal when I heard Weasel Bee calling my name from the Gryffindor table. I had a bad feeling about this. "MALFOY! COME HERE, WILL YOU?" He was shouting. I remembered my promise – I'd vowed to become his willing slave for a whole twenty four hours.

"What? What do you want?" I hissed as I reached the Gryffindor table. Ron, I noticed, was sat in front of a huge pile of spoons.

"Pass us a spoon, will you? I can't _quite_ reach!"

"THEY'RE RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU!"

His eyebrows shot up. "Are we forgetting something?"

I sighed with annoyance and reached for a spoon. He pointed at his dish and then opened his mouth wide. Oh, no. He wasn't going to make me do this was he?

"Oh, no, I am not feeding you your desert!"

"Oh, OK. I think I'll go visit Professor Snape and tell him how you stole from his personal stores then. Wanna come with me?"

Praying that the other Slytherins didn't see, I sat in a space he'd cleared for me and began spoon-feeding him his meal. OH, THE HORROR!

Thank the lord he was a fast eater!

….

I got to the common room later than the others that night. I flopped down on my bed, completely exhausted and rolled over onto my side, trying to get comfortable, when I heard the crinkling of parchment under my pillow. I reached underneath my pillow and found a folded-up piece of paper. I unfolded it and read:

_Draco,_

_We need to talk. Urgently. Meet me in the Astronomy Tower at around midnight tonight._

_Astoria_

I read the note about five times, completely petrified. Why did I get the feeling that something bad was going to happen…?


	9. Betrayal

_**Hope you guys enjoy this chapter…it's a lot more action-packed and Drastoria-y. Thanks to all your reviews by the way! Really appreciate 'em. You people are awesome! :')**_

_**This chapter is dedicated to Anisah…coz, well, she's AWESOME! :D**_

**Chapter Nine – Betrayal**

I didn't sleep a wink that night. The same questions were wandering through my head all night. I must've reread it about twenty times by wandlight. What if it was a trap? And if it wasn't…what did she want to talk to me about?

Well, these thoughts were getting me nowhere at all. I checked the time.

Five minutes till midnight. I had to decide now; was I going or staying?

I decided to go and see, once again, what was waiting for me in the Astronomy Tower.

…

Ten minutes past twelve.

The Astronomy Tower.

Silence.

I strained my ears, trying to detect some sort of sound, but there was none. Not a whisper, not a breath. Knowing I'd probably regret it, I pushed the door and it slowly creaked open. I sighed with relief when I saw Astoria stood in there. She appeared to be alone, so I went in.

"So you did get my note. I was starting to think you wouldn't come." She said.

"Why wouldn't I?"

She shrugged as I asked the question that'd been preying on my mind.

"So, uh…what do you want to talk to me about?"

"This." She replied. She pulled up the sleeve on her arm. "This isn't normal. It keeps hurting really badly." On the inside of her arm was a huge gash that stretched from her elbow to her wrist, red and raw. Some blood had dried onto her skin and the huge cut hadn't quite knitted together yet and was still bleeding, but only slightly.

I should've stopped her from speaking to me since Bellatrix used the Cruciatus Curse on her. I was putting her in danger. She could get killed because of me. It was time to end it right now. No more messing around. Still, I hated the idea of not talking to her.

But I wanted her to be safe.

"What the hell happened?" I probably looked more terrified than she did, and she was the one who almost got sliced to pieces!

"It doesn't matter what happened but I told you to come here because I need to tell you something," she cleared her throat and was about to go on when I interrupted her.

"Astoria, I…I don't think we should talk any more."

"W…what?"

"I'm putting you in danger. If Bellatrix finds out that we don't…talk anymore she'll leave you alone, won't she? It makes sense."

"Yeah, but then she'll start on someone else, won't she? She'll do anything to get what she wants! She-"

"You're being crazy, just look at your arm! I'm not stupid…I know she did that to you! It doesn't take a genius to figure it out, you know."

"So that's it?"

I nodded. "Yeah. Don't you understand? She's nearly killed you! The first time you nearly get burned alive, then you get literally get mutilated…Why would you still want to even be in the same _room_ as me if all that's my fault?" I swallowed. This had all happened too fast.

She sighed. "But I thought that was it. I thought she asked you for the Polyjuice Potion ingredients and that was it. Isn't it over now?"

"Yeah, but she'll keep doing it! If she ever wants something or wants to get into Hogwarts, she'll use me. She's done it once and she'll do it again, and do whatever it takes to get it, even if it means killing _you_. It'll take her less than a second to do it, too."

"So…that's it?"

"Yes," I replied, and walked out of the Astronomy Tower. I felt like my best friend had just died or something. Like something wasn't right. I felt like there was something missing…incomplete.

I would've gone straight back down to the common room, but a shrill shriek stopped me.

"I thought I told you…_NOT TO DO IT TILL I SAID_!"

Bellatrix.

I crept slowly back up the stairs, trying to make no noise at all.

"It wasn't my fault, he just left!" Astoria replied, her voice shaky and loud.

"AND YOU DIDN'T THINK TO STOP HIM?" Bellatrix screamed.

"What was I supposed to do? Handcuff him to the damn door or something?"

_SLAP_!

"What was that for?"

"You being a stupid coward and letting him go!" Bellatrix replied harshly.

"I'm sorry! He stormed out before I could stop him!" Astoria yelled.

I couldn't listen to it anymore. I barged through the door. Astoria had been crying again and Bellatrix looked angry. _Extremely_ angry.

"What the hell's going on here?"

"Oh, look! It's Draco! Come to save the day again?" Belllatrix sneered.

"Draco, don't listen to her! Don't listen to a word she says, she's lying!" Astoria cried as Bellatrix cackled with laughter.

"About what? What're you talking about?"

Bellatrix grabbed hold of Astoria's arm and walked towards me, dragging her behind. "Go on then! Tell him!"

A tear fell from her eye and she looked down, shaking her head.

"Someone tell me. Now!"

"Isn't she just a wonderful actress, Draco?" Bellatrix said as she smiled evilly at both of us.

"What're you talking about?"

"I'm talking about _her_! She's been playing you all along! And you were so vulnerable…stupid, just like your father."

"What?"

"Don't you understand?" Bellatrix yelped. "She's been telling me everything. About every conversation, every single time you were together. I know about _all_ of it."

"You're lying!" I shouted at Bellatrix. "Why are you doing this to me?"

"Believe me, I am not the one that's lying! It's her!" Bellatrix pushed Astoria forward, towards me again. "I know about everything, Draco. She was just using you the whole time."

I felt a stab of pain. This wasn't happening.

"So you just…betrayed me?" I couldn't believe it. She'd been sneaking around behind my back telling Bellatrix everything. How could she do this to me? I wanted to leave, but my feet were rooted into the ground.

"I didn't mean to, honestly! She threatened to kill me and my family if I didn't do what she said. This is what I wanted to talk about; I was going to tell you everything!"

"Even though I told you not to?" Bellatrix yelled. "So you've been lying to both of us, have you?"

"IT ISN'T _LIKE_ THAT!"

I didn't know who to believe.

"You foul, disgusting _brat_! How dare you? CRUCIO-" Bellatrix screamed. I pulled Astoria out of the way just in time. The spell _just_ missed her.

"GET OUT! RUN, NOW! GET DUMBLEDORE" I yelled as Bellatrix tried another wand. "PROTEGO!" I bolted for the door and slammed it shut. "Colloportus!"

I knew it wouldn't hold her off for long. Then I remembered – she'd found a way to Apparate inside Hogwarts. I was completely out of ideas.

I sprinted down the stairs as quick as I could while she was still locked in there, praying that Astoria was trying to find Dumbledore. I reached the corridor and found Dumbledore and Astoria at the bottom of the staircase. I was out of breath by the time I reached them. I opened my mouth to start explaining, but Dumbledore stopped me. "Miss Greengrass has already explained everything. You two are two wait in my office." I brushed past him as soon as he said it.

"Draco, wait, I need to explain!" I heard Astoria say from behind me.

"You don't need to explain anything," I replied calmly, "Bellatrix did that _for_ you."

"You don't understand! She didn't explain everything!"

"I don't care. It doesn't matter." She'd caught up with me now.

"If you don't care, why are you storming off like this?"

"BECAUSE," I shouted. Oops…I didn't mean for it to come out that loud. "Because you deserve more than a Death Eater."

"Don't call yourself that," she said gently. "You're not one of them."

"Well I probably will be soon, then what?"

She looked down and shrugged.

"Look, we'll…we'll sort this out later. We should get to Dumbledore's office.

…

Dumbledore barged through the door of his office as me and Astoria stood side by side, waiting. "No sign of her. She'd disappeared before I got up there. Now, you two get to the Great Hall and join the other students immediately. I'll be there in a while."

Every single student was talking about what happened and why they had been told to get out of bed at such a late hour. For once, the houses were mixing, when usually they stood separately. Potter, Weasley and Granger were stood alone talking. I suddenly had an idea as I walked over to The Golden Trio.

"Granger…I mean – Hermione…could I talk to you?" I asked as I saw her pull a confused face.

"Course," she replied suspiciously. God, I knew she hated me but it wasn't like I was about to bite her head off, was it?

"Over there, now." I pointed to a spot where nobody was stood, near the Hufflepuff's table.

"So, what do you want?"

"Your help. In fact, I need your help."

"And just why would I help _you_, Malfoy? You positively hate me. What makes you think I'd do anything for you?"

"OK, seriously, right now I need you to forget that you hate me and help me! You don't understand how much I need your help!" I pleaded. Ugh…I regretted this now.

"Why? Why'd you need help?"

"I can't _tell_ you."

"Then I can't _help_ you. Sorry Malfoy, you'll have to get someone else's help."

"No…wait."

So I told her. I told her everything. "But you can't tell _anyone_."

She nodded and narrowed her eyes again. "What's in it for me?"

"Whatever! I'll do whatever you want…Hermione, I'm _desperate_!"

"Fine…I'll meet you outside your common room after our Potions lesson later." She muttered. She was probably as astounded as me. I nodded at the agreed arrangement.

…

"Stupefy!" I tried again.

"Don't worry, it takes a few times. Besides, there isn't a certain wand movement that goes with the spell. Look, try it again, but keep a firm grip on your wand and keep it still." Hermione said.

Yes…I'd reached a new low. I'd asked her to help me defend myself. But if it stopped Bellatrix, it was probably worth it.

"_Stupefy_!" I repeated. A beam of red light shot out of my wand.

"_Rennervate_!" She said, completely blocking the spell.

"What'd you do that for? I finally got it right!"

"Because," she said as she put her wand back in her pocket, "I didn't want to be knocked unconscious! Anyway, you've been trying that same spell for about an hour. Why don't you just take a break?"

"Way ahead of you." I muttered as I flopped down on one of the grassy banks that surrounded the school. Granger had chosen a deserted part of the school grounds during our free lesson.

"Going to the Yule Ball tonight then?" I began. "Shouldn't you be getting ready or something?"

She glared at me. "Yes, I am going."

"With?"

"I don't see how that's any of _your_ business! Honestly. Ron, Harry, now you! Why's everyone asking me the same question?"

"So that we can laugh at you when you tell us your embarrassing date…if someone's asked you, that is."

She looked outraged. "Of course someone's asked me! I just don't want to tell you who it is!"

"Why not?"

"If I tell you will you promise to shut up? You already owe me anyway."

"Promise."

"Viktor." She grimaced as she waited for my response, as if she thought it was going to be a bad one.

"Oh."

"What? That's all you're going to say? Not going to laugh? Not going to call me a filthy little Mudblood?" She snapped.

"No," I mumbled. "Because you've just helped me out big time."

"Exactly." She muttered. "Heard anything about Bellatrix today?"

Bloody hell…she was actually asking me about my private life. Had I stepped into some sort of parallel universe? First Ronald…now Hermione. What was going on here?

"No."

"And Astoria? Are you going to talk to her or not?"

"No…because it'll put her in danger."

Hermione sighed. "You really care about her don't you?"

I thought about protesting, but eventually decided it was pointless. "Yes."

"Does she know?"

"No. Don't think so anyway."

Hermione took a breath to start talking, but we were interrupted by a loud, growly voice behind us. We whirled round and saw Fenrir Greyback stood with…Bellatrix.

"Fraternising with a Mudblood are we, Draco? Someone's reached a new low!"

Hermione and I backed away slowly. "Granger…you're used to this kind of thing…what do we do?"

"Run!" She hissed.

"What? That's you plan?"

"When I say so…1…2…3…" We carried on backing away, our wands pointed straight at Greyback and Bellatrix. "NOW!" We sprinted for what seemed like forever, often whirling round and casting spells. "STUPEFY!" Hermione shouted and Greyback flew backwards and hit the grassy floor. _Hard_. I continued to run until I thought my heart would burst and stopped when we reached the first few trees of the Forbidden Forest. Hermione kept running.

"What the hell are you doing? That's the Forbidden Forest!" I exclaimed.

"COME ON!" She yelled. Blimey…she could be downright _scary_ at times. Despite it being just past noon, the Forbidden Forest was as dark and eerie as ever. It was also freezing cold and a thick layer of fog had settled upon the treetops and just above the ground.

"Quick, hide behind that tree!" Hermione hissed, pointing to what looked like the hugest tree in the entire forest. We listened for Bellatrix but we couldn't hear her. We peered around the trunk of the abnormally huge tree but we couldn't find her. "We lost her. Thank god." Hermione whispered.

"Let's go then."

"No! She could be just round the corner you narrow-minded fool! Don't you ever _think_?"

"Alright, alright. No need to be so…"

She narrowed her eyes and I shut up.

…

_I recognized the room we were stood in. I recognized the long table the stretched from one end of the room to the other, the pictures on the mantelpiece, the portraits hung on the walls._

_They'd brought me home. They'd brought me back to Malfoy Manor._

_Bellatrix muttered something to the other Death Eaters. Greyback and Astoria were stood to one side while the Voldemort's other followers decided the young girls' fate. While they discussed how they'd kill her. _

"_GREYBACK!" Bellatrix yelled. "TAKE THE BOY AWAY, NOW!" Fenrir suddenly grabbed me and threw me out of the room and locked the door. "NOW DO IT! DO IT,QUICKLY!" Bellatrix screamed at him._

_There was about five seconds of silence, until it was filled with the sound of Astoria screaming. I had to get back in there…What were they doing to her?_

"_Alohomora!" The door unlocked itself and I saw Astoria lying on the ground in a pool of her own blood…_

"Draco, wake up!" Said a soft voice from above me. I groaned in reply and opened my eyes to see Dumbledore stood above me. I sat up.

"What is it, sir?"

"Miss Greengrass…she's gone missing…"

_**How about that for a cliff hanger, guys? Haha, hope you enjoyed…**_


	10. Proposal

_**This chapter is dedicated to Chloe (Marshmallow Girl :D) coz…actually, I don't need a reason! She's just awesome :D**_

**Chapter Ten – Proposal **

"What?" I whispered.

"It's true, she's completely vanished into thin air!"

"Yeah, well, that's not my problem, is it?" I snapped. "Why not go and tell the Golden Trio to save the day like you always do?"

"Draco, I completely understand why you are angry," Dumbledore said softly.

"No. You don't." I flopped back down and tried to get comfortable again, making it clear I didn't want to talk about it, even though worry swelled up inside me. What was it with her and her annoying habit of going missing or nearly getting killed every two seconds?

I started shaking and didn't know why. Astoria was his responsibility, not mine. Dumbledore was the headmaster of Hogwarts, not me. It was his fault, not mine. Plus, I'm sure Dumbledore – labelled the most powerful sorcerer in the world – could save her himself. I wanted nothing to do with her anymore…not because I disliked her, but because I didn't want her in danger.

"There's no point in staying here, because I'm not going to change my mind, Professor."

"So there's nothing I can say?"

"That's right. There's nothing you can say." I said, even though part of me wanted to leave and find her right away. It was hard to resist leaving with Dumbledore, but I knew I couldn't.

"Very well," Dumbledore said as he walked back out of the dorm. "But you may regret it."

What the hell was he doing? Was he trying to put Astoria in danger or what? Argh! He'd made it so hard to stay. I couldn't just sit here and do nothing.

"Professor!" I called. Dumbledore poked his head round the door.

"Yes, Draco?"

"I'll come. I'll help you find her." _But after that, _I thought, _that's it. That's it…it's finished now._

Dumbledore nodded. "I assure you you're making the right decision. Have you any idea where she might be?"

"Well, I think she's at…" I started, remembering my dream, "my home. I think Bellatrix took her to Malfoy Manor."

Dumbledore looked a little vacant. "Very well. We shall start there, then."

Then I remembered what Bellatrix wanted. Her Polyjuice Potion ingredients. I grabbed them from under my bed in the small bag they were stored in and then took Dumbledore's outstretched arm, and found myself standing outside a very familiar place indeed. Malfoy Manor.

The wrought iron gates that enclosed the gardens and the huge mansion were locked as usual. The albino peacocks that father kept roamed the perfectly straight lawns that surrounded the house. I knew we wouldn't be able to get in from the main entrance, so I decided that we'd use the secret entrance round the back that only I knew about.

"Come on." I lead the way as a harshly bitter wind blew through my hair. It was freezing.

After what seemed like a lifetime, we reached the back of the house. It was eerily silent and the pitch-black sky above Dumbledore and I was dotted with shimmering stars. I found the secret passageway – disguised as an ordinary-looking wall – and tapped it twice and the wall shifted to the right, revealing a large archway. "This way," I muttered. It was barely more than a whisper, but seemed louder when my voice bounced off the walls and echoed around the tunnel. Dumbledore didn't follow me.

"Aren't you coming?" I hissed. He shook his head.

"No…this is something you need to do yourself." Dumbledore whispered, and then he tapped the wall once again with his own wand and it shifted back into place, and I was left in the darkness.

OK, so I hadn't seen _that_ coming. I was more scared than ever now. "Lumos," I whispered, and suddenly light filled the tunnel, illuminating the stone archway. Then I heard the voices.

They seemed to be getting louder with every step I took. I reached an old wooden door and pulled it open and found myself in the cellar – the lowest level of Malfoy Manor. I climbed up the stairs and pressed my ear against the door, listening.

"And what's your plan if the boy suddenly comes in without warning?" I heard Bellatrix say.

"Just do whatever you have to do to get rid of him!" Someone replied. I didn't know who it was, I didn't recognize the voice.

"And the girl? What do we do with her?"

"Greyback has taken care of her already." The person said.

"Where is she?"

"The library, upstairs on the second floor. She's locked in. For _now_, anyway."

The library. I had to get up there, but couldn't go the obvious way, or Bellatrix'd see me, so I took a detour, through the parlour and the hallway which leaded to the first floor. I bolted up the stairs and past my mother and father's room, up a second set of stairs and then found myself at the doors of the library. Locked. But I knew where the spare key was.

Honestly, being a Malfoy was so _**awesome**_ at times.

I found the spare key and unlocked the doors to the library. It was a round, circular room with thousands of books upon curved shelves that stood against the walls.

"Astoria are you in here?" I whispered.

"Oh, _thank god_! I've been waiting in here for ages!" She cried as she emerged from behind a desk that was piled high with…_junk_.

"Well what did you expect?"

"I just…thought you didn't know I'd gone missing." She replied.

"Me? _Never_. I know everything," I grinned. "So what did Greyback do?"

"It doesn't matter, please just get me _out_ of here."

"Hang on," I said as I plonked the bag full of Polyjuice Potion ingredients on a desk and scribbled Bellatrix a note, knowing she'd find it when she came looking for Astoria. "OK, follow me. And try not to make any noise or get killed in the process."

…

We'd escaped from Malfoy Manor and met up with Dumbledore, who took us back to Hogwarts shortly. I was actually getting _used_ to this whole narrow-escape thing.

Astoria and I walked to the Slytherin common room together. Her skin was paler than usual and there were dark circles under her eyes. She was obviously extremely tired.

"Well I, for one, am exhausted. See you tomorrow." She said.

I raised my eyebrows. "Oh yeah," I grinned, "I go through all that and not even a hug? Wow, that is just _wrong_. Ah, well…I'll live."

She laughed. "It's going to take more than that, I'm afraid."

"Ha! Are you forgetting that I've saved your life about three times?"

"_Fine_," she smiled and then hugged me and once again, an ecstatic feeling swelled inside me and all worry and anger slipped away for a moment or two…

_**Ten Years Later…**_

"Ron!" I exploded. "This isn't _funny_!" Ron tried to keep in his laughter. It was mid-July and Ron and I were sat in a Muggle café. The sun was up and the sky was cloudless. A perfect summer's day.

"All right, all right. Listen, how about we go The Burrow and I'll help you there?" Ron suggested. I nodded with agreement.

It had been seven years since the war. The years had flown by and everyone had carried on with their lives as if nothing had happened. In the seven years, Ron had married Hermione and Harry Potter had married Ginny. I'd sort-of become friends with all of them except one. And we all know which one it is. Potter, of course!

…

**The Burrow**

"So…which knee do I get down on again?" I asked, confused.

"Draco, that's what normal people do when they get married. I still think you should hire Buckbeak and put the ring in it's mouth and then make Astoria go get it."

"It'll bite her arm off!" I exclaimed.

"Yeah…yeah, that symbolises an adventurous and courageous raltionship!"

"No, seriously, which knee is it?"

He sighed. "Any, it…it doesn't really matter." Ron said. "Look, what if I pretend to be Astoria? That'll help."

"Fine. Get over here then." Ron walked over to me and held out his hand. "What on earth are you doing?"

"Well, you are about to 'propose' to me, aren't you?"

"Alright, fine!" I took his hand and tried really hard not to laugh. "Astoria, I really like you and-"

Ron cleared his throat. "Like me? Oh, silly me, I thought it was a bit more than just liking me, Draco, considering your about to _propose_!" I only just managed to hold in my laughter at Ron's seriously rubbish imitation of Astoria.

"Astoria, I really _love_ you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you…Will you marry me?"

Ron's eyebrows shot up. "So Malfoys do have feelings, after all. And I was starting to think you were some sort of emotionless robot or something."

Hermione burst through the door and frowned at us. "I…am not even going to ask what you two are doing. Forget I ever came in here."

"Draco's proposing to Astoria later and needed my help, that's all." Ron explained. Hermione's facial expression changed instantly.

"That is so sweet! So are you taking her somewhere special?"

"Well…it's the place we had our first ever date, so it's quite special to me. The Three Broomsticks. Well I'd better be going now…wish me luck you guys."

"She'll say yes, you've got nothing to worry about," Hermione reassured.

"See you later," I said, and with a wave of my wand I Apparated into The Three Broomsticks…

…

I was terrified. What if she said no? My life would be _over_! No, really, I'd have to crawl under a rock and stay there for the rest of my life!

I took a deep breath as I watched her enter The Three Broomsticks. She looked beautiful, as usual, which made me even more nervous. She smiled and sat down next to me. We greeted and I ordered two butterbeers.

I took a deep breath. This was it.

"Astoria…all these years I've spent with you have been great and I want to spend the rest of my life with you." Then I got down on one knee and took another deep breath and then…

_**How's that for a cliffhanger? Oh yeah, that's right, I'm gonna make you WAIT! But you can all probably guess what happens anyway… =D Review please, guys!**_


	11. Chocate Fogs

_**This chapter is dedicated to Shaima =D**_

_**Warning: Contains scenes of extreme cuteness :') Draco and Scorpius … AWWWWWW!**_

_**OK…rant over. Enjoy!**_

**Chapter Eleven – 'Chocate Fogs'**

"Will you marry me?"

Astoria looked gobsmacked. She seemed speechless. The other customers in The Three Broomsticks were watching us anxiously. _'You might want to _answer_ soon,' _I thought,_ 'preferably with a _yes_!'_

It was as if she'd read my thoughts. "Yes!"

Just that one word had my racing ecstatically as I got up to my feet as fast as a euphoric rabbit and the rest of the customers broke into a huge cheer. I embraced her in a hug and breathed a sigh of relief. I had no idea that one word – nay, one _syllable_ – could make you feel like this. I never would've imagined it being this amazing.

I pulled away from her and reached into my pocket and got out a little velvet box that contained the ring I'd bought her a few days ago. I opened the box and got it out, then took her left hand and slid the white-gold ring onto her finger. If I thought she gobsmacked before, she looked completely astounded now.

"Draco, I'm speechless! It's…it's _beautiful_." There were tears in her eyes.

"Then why are you crying?"

"Because…I'm so _happy_."

* * *

**The Burrow**

"Must've cost him a _fortune_," Hermione muttered, looking at the ring on Astoria's finger. Her, Ginny and Mrs. Weasley were all crowded around looking at it, while Ron and I stood to one side.

"You did a good job, mate," Ron said.

"Couldn't have done it without you, Weasel Bee, couldn't have done it without you."

"I thought we had an agreement! You're not supposed to call me that any more."

"Yeah, well…today's an exception. I mean, come on, it's not _every_ day you get engaged is it?"

"Fine," Ron scowled, "but only if you let Harry come to your wedding."

I sighed. "Why? Me and him aren't exactly the best of friends, are we? Can't see why he'd want to come anyway."

"Well he probably doesn't want to keep this grudge going any longer. I'm sure if it was me I'd be exhausted by now. Isn't it _tiring_?"

"No, not really." I smirked. "Why so glum, Weasley?"

"I'm not glum…just trying to figure out what's so bad about Harry."

"The list is endless, Ron." I grinned. "I just don't want to think about Potter right now. Might spoil this _exceptionally_ good mood."

"You seem chuffed with yourself," he remarked.

"Well, you know, it _could_ be to do with the fact that I just proposed to the girl I've loved for about…hmm, _ten years_."

Ten years…it'd gone so fast. I felt like it was only yesterday that it was our first year at Hogwarts and we were all just a bunch of misfits.

"Yeah, true." Ron grinned, his red hair falling into his eyes. "Bloody hell, Draco, it seems like you're a different person to the obnoxious _git_ I met at Hogwarts."

"I changed, I guess."

"For her?" Ron said as he nodded as Astoria.

"Not just for her…for myself, as well."

* * *

_**Three Years Later…**_

"It's scary how much he looks like you, you know," Astoria said softly, looking at the photo of our son on the wooden mantelpiece.

Yeah, you read right – our _son_.

Yeah…I – Draco Malfoy – was a _father_.

I still found it hard to believe myself, even though little Scorpius was three in about four months.

"I know, everyone tells me the same thing." I grinned, looking at the photo of Scorpius. His hair was the exact same shade as mine, as were his steel-grey eyes and pale-white skin.

"He thinks you're absolutely faultless, you know." She said.

"Well, he's wrong there." I sighed.

"Dad! Dad!" I heard him burst into the room, calling me. He waved his arms at me and I picked him up, moving his hair out of his eyes.

"How's my favourite little man doing?"

Scorpius smiled his cheeky, mischievous, gap-toothed smile at me. "Look! Look at me; I look like _you_, Dad!" He shoved his arm in my face and showed me what he'd done. There, inked on his arm, was a wobbly imitation of the Dark Mark. I went stiff and put Scorpius down. He looked confused. "What's the matter, Daddy? Don't you want me to be just like _you_?"

I looked over at Astoria, who had paled herself. She kneeled down beside Scorpius and took out her wand. "Scourgify," she whispered, and the ink was wiped right off his arm. Scorpius frowned.

"No, love, it's not that," Astoria began explaining, "it's just that…a long time ago, a very evil man came into power and that was his mark."

"But Daddy's got one. And so does grandfather…does that mean Daddy is evil?"

"No! No, not at all. Your Dad, he…he made a few mistakes when he was younger and he doesn't want you to make the same mistakes, OK Scorp?"

He nodded, still looking rather gloomy. "So…even though you're big and you're grown up…you still make mistakes?"

"Yes," she nodded. "Everybody makes mistakes." She looked at me and then back at Scorpius and whispered something into his ear. Scorpius nodded and gave an ear-to-ear grin.

"Dad?" He tugged on the sleeve of my jacket.

I picked him up again. "Yes?"

"Can…can we go to the park?" He asked eagerly.

"Of course," I grinned. "Do I get a hug first, though?"

Scorpius nodded and flung his arms round my neck. "I love you, Dad."

"I love you too, Scorp."

* * *

"Don't go too high on that swing, Scorp!" I called, running over to stop him from swinging too high.

"But Dad, I'm a _big_ boy!"

"But you don't want to fall off, do you?" I said as I heaved him off the swing and began tickling him. He laughed hysterically. That was one of the things I loved the most about Scorpius – his laugh.

I carried on tickling him till he was completely out of breath and then gave him a piggyback around the park. "Dad?"

"Yes?"

"Can I have a…a _chocate fog_?"

"A chocolate frog?" I repeated. "But Mum's cooking at home and she'll be upset if you don't eat what she's made."

He sighed as I put him down and looked at me as if I wasn't completely sane, raising his eyebrows. "Yes, Dad…but what Mummy doesn't know won't hurt her." He smiled that cheeky smile and there was a mischievous glint in his eyes. Wow – if I hadn't known him, I would've guessed he was a Malfoy just from that _one_ sentence.

"No, Scorp, you can't have a chocolate frog…" I began. Scorpius looked crestfallen. "…unless you share it with me!" I started tickling him again and he started shrieking with laughter, high-pitched yelps that echoed around the park, and then I carried him around to Zabini's Odds and Ends, a seemingly-normal hardware shop that sold…well, odds and ends, really, run by my old Hogwarts friend Blaise.

"Morning, stranger. Long time, no see, Malfoy…or should I say _Malfoys_," Blaise grinned at me and Scorpius.

"_This_ one wants a chocolate frog even though his mother is cooking dinner at home." I raised my eyebrows and Scorpius smiled at me.

"Honestly…that kid is just like you." Blaise chuckled. "One chocolate frog coming right up." He disappeared behind the counter for a few seconds and then popped up again. "Consider it as an…early birthday present."

"Blaise…his birthday's in about four months."

"So?"

I shrugged. "Here Scorp," I handed it to him, "now say thank you."

"Thank you!" He repeated after me and grinned.

"Your welcome, little man." Blaise said. I nodded at him, then carried Scorpius out of the shop and ran slap-bang into Weasley who had taken his own little girl out for a while. Rose Weasley looked at me with her bright blue eyes moved her frizzy red hair from her face and suddenly went shy.

"Rose," Ron reminded gently, "say hello to Mr Malfoy."

"You say hello too, Scorp."

"Hello Mr Weasley! Hi Rose!" Scorpius exclaimed. Rose gave a little wave at us.

"I dunno what's got into her," Ron frowned. "Anyway, I haven't seen you for a while."

"Been busy looking after this _menace_, haven't I?" I looked at Scorpius, whose face and hands were covered in chocolate. "How's Hermione?"

"She's fine…told me to take Rose out of the house for a bit while she had some alone time. Whatever that is."

"What about Harrys' kid, Albus?"

"Oh, he's great. Harry and Ginny are fine too. Anyway, I better get going. Why don't you pop over later on if you're not busy?"

"Uh, yeah, OK. That'd be great. See you later, then. Bye, Rose." And with that Scorpius and I started walking home. I would've Apparated, but we only lived around the corner and the place was full of Muggles. If we both just vanished into thin air I think they'd find it rather odd.

"Daddy?" Scorpius started, looking worried. "Are you going to tell Mummy I had that chocate fog?"

"Well if you're a good boy and eat up all your dinner like a big boy, I won't tell her. How's that?"

"OK, then."

I unlocked the door to the house and whispered in Scorpius's ear and he rushed upstairs and I heard him slam the bathroom door, after I told him to go wash his face before his mother saw.

"Have a good time then?" I heard Astoria's voice getting louder as she walked into the living room. "Some good father-son bonding time?" She grinned.

"Yep," I smiled back, with little Scorpius's words still ringing in my head. "Hopefully he won't draw the…that thing on his arm again."

"He just wants to be like you, Draco."

"Well yeah, I mean…I am perfect, aren't I?" I smirked, knowing it'd annoy her. Because, well, it always did.

"Ha! You wish!"

"I don't wish, I _know_."

"You are so vain, it's _unbelievable_." She said that on a daily basis, but I knew it was just a joke.

"You say that every day." I laughed.

"That's because it's true. You're vain and conceited."

"And _you_ are a liar…do I get a hug now?" I held my arms out and she hugged me.

"Malfoy, you are _so_ annoying." She said fondly, like she always did. I swear, that was her catchphrase. She pulled away. "Where's Scorpius?"

"Upstairs." I said, hearing his words in my head – '_What Mummy doesn't know won't hurt her…_'

I smiled at his very true words and felt happier than I had in nearly three years.


	12. Black Ops

**Chapter Twelve – Black Ops**

"Ron…what the _hell_ is this?" I said as he opened the front door and shoved…something rather odd in my face. It was made of black plastic, and oddly shaped, and had several different shaped buttons on it.

"Come in, I'll show you!" Ron said excitedly. I took the plastic…whatever it was off him and followed him into the living room. "Look what I've got!"

The floor was scattered with long wires which led to some sort of odd plastic and metal contraption. "Ron…that thing looks _lethal_! What the hell is it?"

"It's called a PS3. You play _games_ on it! How cool is that?"

"A PS3? Care to explain what that stands for?"

"Oh, er…dunno. Hang on, I'll check. It says it on the box somewhere." He muttered as he fumbled around in the living room, looking for it. "Oh, here it is. It stands for Play Station Three."

"Three? Shouldn't you have got one first?"

"I don't think it really matters, actually. Come on, let's have a go." Ron grinned. "Everything's…plugged in. Hermione had to do it for me because I had no idea what all the wires were for and everything."

"So you play with…this?" I said, looking at the plastic thing I was still holding.

"Yeah, that's called a controller. You use that one to move around," Ron pointed, "and you use those to…uh, kill people."

"Kill people?" I frowned. "What happens in this game exactly?"

"Well, it's called Black Ops and, you get missions and kill people and stuff. It's quite fun actually."

I pushed one of the buttons on the…_controller_ hesitantly and then moved my hand away quickly and frowned when nothing happened. I thought it was supposed to kill people…and yet there was a distinct lack of dead people in Ron's living room. "Ron I don't think my, uh, controller's working," I said.

He looked at me blankly. "You have to turn the PS3 on first, idiot."

"Oh, so that makes sense now." I said as Ron kneeled down and pushed a button on the PS3 thing and it suddenly lit up. "Ron…is that supposed to happen?"

"Uh, yeah I think so. We just have to put the disc in now." He pushed another button and a sort of tray thing came out. Ron inserted a small round disc with the words "Black Ops" printed on it and decided to push the tray back in before he gave himself a chance to move his fingers.

"OUCH!" He yelled and moved his hands away.

"Who's the idiot now?"

Ron scowled. "Whatever. It's on now, look!"

The words "Black Ops" flashed across the screen as Ron smiled an ear-to-ear grin. I was so mesmerised by the odd machine that I didn't notice Ron had started playing. "Hey! I didn't know we started! What do we do?"

Ron pushed a button and the game suddenly froze.

"OK, look, you use those buttons to shoot and hit people, and you use that big one to move around. Got it?"

"And I have to kill you?"

"Yeah, that's right." He hit the button again, and the game unfroze and I started pushing random buttons on the controller. It was actually quite fascinating.

"YES! I WON!" Ron yelled as the words "GAME OVER" flickered across the screen. "I BEAT YOU!"

"Hey, that's not fair! I _demand_ a rematch!"

Ron smirked and restarted the game. It lasted for ages, but eventually I won.

"Did you see that? _Did_ you see that last shot? That was amazing, if I do say so myself."

"Yeah, yeah, I let you win, Malfoy."

"I don't think so, _Weasley_." I said smugly. "It was my amazing talent shining through, I like to think."

"That'd be a good comeback if you actually _had_ talent!"

"What are you two bickering about this time?" We heard Hermione call. She and Astoria had taken Scorpius and Rose out for a while. Hermione and Astoria walked into the living room. "Oh, Ron, not this again! You've been playing on this damned game all day!" Hermione said.

"I haven't! I've only been on for an hour or two. And you just gave me an excellent idea! We should have a family game – the Malfoys vs. the Weasleys. You up for it?"

"I don't think so, Ron. I've got things to do, I'm quite busy," Hermione muttered.

"Translation: You're quite _scared_, more like." I smirked. "Come on, we'll go easy on you."

"You think I'm scared of being _beat_ by a _Malfoy_?" She laughed. "Don't make me laugh! You want a challenge? You got it. You in, Astoria?"

"Definitely. OK, we'll start with me Hermione, and the winner stays on. Deal?"

We all shrugged in agreement while I showed Astoria how to play. She and Hermione played for ages and then Astoria – obviously – beat her. I smirked at Hermione and Ron. "That's my girl," I said fondly. "Told you we'd win!"

Hermione sighed. "It's not over yet, Malfoy. And anyway, I see no educational value in this game. You goons should stick to wizard's chess."

"What's going on, Dad?" I heard Scorpius say from the doorway. He stumbled into the room and I picked him up.

"This game. The _Weasleys_ think they can beat us Malfoys."

"But…nobody can beat us! Malfoys are the best!" Scorpius cheered. Astoria grinned and ruffled his ice-blonde hair. Rose sighed.

"I bet _I_ could beat you, Scorpius." She said. "Mum, can I have a go?"

"Sure, honey." She handed Rose the controller and glared at me, like she used to when we were kids.

Scorpius looked intimidated. "Go on Scorp, show them that no-one can beat a Malfoy." Astoria handed the controller to Scorpius and showed him what to do.

And he lost.

He lost.

HE LOST!

MY SON LOST TO A WEASLEY!

"Told you I'd beat you didn't I?" Rose said smugly. Hermione grinned and raised her eyebrows.

"Sorry, Dad…" Scorpius looked up at me and looked extremely sad. I picked him up and whispered in his ear.

"It's OK, Scorp, 'cause I'll be proud of you whatever you do, OK? You'll always be my favourite little man, alright?"

He nodded and yawned, his eyelids started to droop. "I think it's bedtime for you, Scorp." I chuckled.

"But I don't want to go to bed yet!" He whined and yawned again.

"Look, you're falling asleep right in my arms! Come on, I'll read you your favourite story."

"Babbitty Rabbitty and her Cackling Stump?" Scorpius squealed.

"That's the one!"

"OK, then." He wrapped his short arms around my neck and yawned again.

"Well you guys, someone's getting tired, so we should be off." I said to Ron, Hermione and Rose as Astoria took my hand, ready to Apparate out of the Weasley's house. "And Ron, I'll beat you again tomorrow," I grinned.

"Yeah, yeah, get out of here!" Ron laughed. "Say bye, Rose."

"Bye," she waved. And with that we Apparated out of the Weasley's home and into our own. I carried Scorpius up to his room and got out his favourite story, Babbitty Rabbitty and her Cackling Stump. By the time I was halfway through the short story, Scorpius was already completely zonked out, leaned against me. I laid him down gently and watched him for a while. Still, after three years, I couldn't believe I was a father and this was my son. I still remembered when Astoria told me we were going to have a child. I'd never felt so scared in my _life_.

I turned off the light, closing the bedroom door and I walked out and down the stairs and into the living room, where Astoria was sat reading a book.

She looked up. "Where's Scorpius?"

"Asleep. That story zonked him out like a sleeping pill." She smiled and nodded.

"Today was fun."

"Yeah, it was."

"Merlin, it's like I'm sitting next to a stranger! What happened to the Muggle-hating, stuck-up "I'm-always-right" snob I met at school?"

"Well, I am always right, even now! It's a Malfoy thing, Greengrass."

"Ahem! I happen to be a Malfoy as well, you know," Astoria said, her eyebrows raised.

"And don't you forget it. I bet you never once suspected that you'd be a Malfoy when we were in Hogwarts, did you?"

"No. I can honestly say that I didn't. I hated you. A _lot_."

"Trust me – the feeling was absolutely positively one-hundred-percent _mutual_, my friend." I said as she grabbed a cushion and whacked me with it. _Hard_. "Ouch! What was that for?"

"Being so _dense_," she laughed, "you're not supposed to tell your _wife_ that you used to hate her with every fibre of your being!" But she was smiling – so she wasn't mad or upset. God help me if she was.

"But that's the past, so it doesn't matter, does it?"

"Whatever." She said, trying not to smile.

"Awww, don't be like that. I love you now, so the past doesn't matter."

Love her…that was an _understatement_. More like _die_ for her – which, actually, I nearly _did_. About three times.

"OK, I'm scared now. You've definitely been hit on the head by something really, _really_ hard."

"I guess you've changed me. You _and_ Scorpius have both changed me."

"He's grown up so fast. Soon he'll be off to Hogwarts. God knows what waits for him there." Astoria sighed.

"That's…_lovely_, Astoria." I said sarcastically. "He'll be fine. He always is."

* * *

_**Eight Years Later**_

I didn't want to let him get on the train. I remembered this feeling. Being back at Platform 9 ¾ brought back a flood of memories.

It was Scorpius' first day at Hogwarts, and – weirdly – I was probably more terrified for him than he was.

"Dad?"

"Yes?" I replied.

"What if…what if I'm not in Slytherin, Dad?" He swallowed, looking really worried. "Will you…will you be angry?"

"Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy," I began, "I promise you that I won't be angry, no matter what house you're in. If you're in Slytherin, then great! But even if you're not, the other houses are fine, because to me, you'll always be perfect. Remember that, OK?"

He nodded. "Well, I'd better get going." He said. "Bye, Mum."

Astoria embraced him in an extremely tight hug, a few tears running down her face. "Bye, Scorpius." She sniffed. "Behave yourself, OK? Pay attention in your classes. Don't be upset if you're not in Slytherin." She let go of him. Now it was my turn.

My turn to say goodbye. Oh, how I'd been dreading this moment!

"Bye, Dad," Scorpius muttered, and then he flung his arms around me.

"You'd better write to us, every week! Don't give the teachers a hard time…they had enough drama with us two there."

"Why, what happened?"

Astoria and I looked at each other. "That is a very long story. I'll tell you another time. You need to get on the train!" He smiled and took a deep breath and then boarded the Hogwarts Express. A few minutes later, we saw him waving manically out of one of the windows. The clock struck eleven and the train took off, and Platform 9 ¾ transformed into a gloomy and miserable place, as other parents watched their children leave for Hogwarts.

"Don't worry, Draco. If he's anything like you, he'll be fine."

"Don't say that. I made all the wrong choices when I was his age. I don't _want_ him to be like me."

"Well he's a Malfoy, isn't he? He's bound to be alright."

I sighed. "I hope so."

The train got smaller and smaller as it zoomed further away from the Platform, and all that was left was a few clouds of steam from the Hogwarts Express. We watched until the train was no longer visible, and then Apparated out of King's Cross…

* * *

**_OK, guys, so I know this wasn't exactly very action packed or whatever, but I promise that the next few chapters are gonna be AWESOME! Mostly because they're gonna be from Scorpius's point of view, what happens at Hogwarts etc, and I might go back to Draco for a while...You'll enjoy it though, promise! =D, Review please! I really appreciate it, yanno! =D_**


	13. Slytherin Pride

**Chapter Thirteen – Slytherin Pride**

Hey, Malfoy here.

_Scorpius_ _Malfoy_, that is, son of Draco and Astoria Malfoy, soon to be the _best_ Slytherin to walk the corridors of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Yes – _Slytherin_. I _will_ be in Slytherin! I _know_ father wants me to be in Slytherin, even if he says he doesn't mind. Ha! The Malfoys have been in Slytherin for centuries, and I'm sure he'd hate to see me be sorted into – Merlin forbid – _Hufflepuff_ or something. I think I'd jump back onto the Hogwarts Express and go _straight_ home.

I was sat in a compartment on my own, thinking about what life at Hogwarts would be like, when the door suddenly slid open and I saw a familiar face looming in the doorway.

"Rose!" I grinned. I hadn't seen Rose in a long time, and we'd known each other for, well, for _ever_.

"Hey, Scorp," she replied and sat down on the seat opposite me. "Long time, no see."

"So you missed me?"

"_God_, you sounded like your dad then. And yes – I did. Albus and James aren't exactly good company. They keep arguing about what house Albus is going to be in." Rose rolled her eyes. "I guess you want to be in Slytherin right?"

"Get it right, Rose, I'm going to be the best Slytherin _ever_. Not that I'll have to work too hard – I'm already amazing, aren't I?"

She laughed softly. "Whatever you say, Malfoy. You remember that the next time you try to beat me at a video game."

"For the last time, I WAS THREE!"

"So was _I_," She said smugly.

"You are never going to let me forget that are you?"

"_Me_? Let you _forget_? _Never_." She smiled.

"So even when we're old and toothless, you'll still be reminding me that you beat me once?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

The Hogwarts Express kept going, driving past picturesque country sides for hours and hours. It was twilight when we arrived at the castle. The bright lights of Hogwarts illuminated the dark night sky and reflected onto the Black Lake. Hagrid – the school gamekeeper – took us to the castle on boats. I looked over the edge of the boat, which I was sharing with Rose, Albus and James, and thought. Father once told me the Slytherin common room was beneath the lake. That was seriously cool.

"Hey Rose, did you know the Slytherin common room is-"

"-underneath the lake, yes. I read about it in '_Hogwarts, a History_'." I rolled my eyes. Really, what was the point in telling something to a girl who knew _everything_?

"Do you know-"

"Everything? Yeah, I do. I know you're about to roll your eyes at me." She said, right on cue. "Now you're freaked out."

"Uh, _yeah_, I am." I nodded. "Did you know your cousin's a freak, James?"

James rolled his eyes. "Oh yeah, I know. The inconvenient truth is literally _drilled_ into my brain." I grinned, as I saw Albus glare at me. He still hated me – and I seriously didn't know why.

"What's up with _you_?" I frowned. He shook his head and sighed. I looked at Rose for enlightenment, but she shrugged, so I dropped the subject.

We finally arrived at the gates of Hogwarts. The castle was better than I'd ever imagined, with huge turrets reaching the clouds and grassy banks surrounding the castle. I looked at Rose – her eyes sparkled at the sight of the ancient building, and then we followed Hagrid into the castle, where McGonagall gave a small speech to us new first-years. Then she took us into the Great Hall.

Thousands of candles had been lit and floated in mid air. The ceiling looked like the night sky, black and dotted with shimmering stars. There were four long tables that stretched from one side of the Great Hall, one for each house.

"Now you will be sorted into your houses," McGonagall announced, and pulled out an extremely old-looking hat. The Sorting Hat.

I had to be in Slytherin. I had to.

I waited until the list finally reached M.

"Scorpius Malfoy," McGonagall called out. My body suddenly stiffened. Rose widened her eyes at me.

"Go on, Scorp, it's your turn!" She shoved me forward and tripped whilst walking to the Sorting Hat. I scowled at her.

"Ah!" The Sorting Hat said loudly, "a _Malfoy_, eh? Want to be just like your father, I see…but you're loyal and brave. Very clever, as well…Better be…"

_SLYTHERIN! SAY SLYTHERIN! NOW! **SLYTHERIN**!_

"Slytherin!" The Sorting Hat said loudly. I breathed a sigh of relief and McGonagall removed the Sorting Hat from my head, and I proudly went to join the other Slytherins.

Dad will be _so_ proud when he finds out.

I didn't know how Albus got into Gryffindor. I swear he was evil – he _hated_ me with a passion. Why, I hear you ask. I have no idea.

Finally the list reached W and McGonagall called Rose to the Sorting Hat. I watched anxiously as the Sorting Hat decided what house she belonged in.

When finally…

"Gryffindor!"

I felt like kicking myself for being so stupid. What was I expecting? For her to be in Slytherin? Of course she was going to be in _Gryffindor_.

She looked extremely happy with the rest of the Gryffindors. Well, she _was_ with her cousins and had already made friends with some of them. I had to wait till the end of the feast to talk to her.

"You happy about being in Gryffindor, then?"

"Yes! I love it…" Rose beamed. "What about you? You got what you wanted, Slytherin."

"Yeah, it's cool," I shrugged.

"Did you see him, James? Honestly, pretty boy over there can't even walk in a straight line! And there he is, thinking he's all that just because he's a _Malfoy_!" I heard Albus say behind us.

I slowly turned around. "Are you…talking about me?" I asked calmly.

"Oh, look! He knows his second name! Wow – he must be _evolving_!"

I took a deep breath and tried not to get angry. "Look, Al, I don't know what I've done to you or what your problem is, just keep away from me."

"Awww, is widdle Scorp throwing a wobbly? Why not run off to your Death Eater father and-"

BANG!

Oops.

I didn't mean for the punch to be that forceful. Albus fell on the floor, his lip bleeding. Students our age and older crowded around, watching us. Rose looked gobsmacked, while James looked rather entertained.

"James! James, do something!" Rose said desperately.

Albus got to his feet and drew his wand, about to say a spell that'd probably hex me into oblivion, but we were interrupted by McGonagall.

"What the devil are you two doing?" She ordered.

"He attacked me! Look, look I'm bleeding!"

"He was provoking me!"

"That is enough!" She bellowed. Woah – she may have looked old but she had a right set of lungs on her. The crowded corridor suddenly went silent. "You will all proceed to your dormitories immediately. And as for you two, you will come with me." She pointed at me and Albus.

"This is all your fault," he glared.

"You shouldn't have provoked me!"

"You shouldn't have savagely attacked me! You should be locked up, I swear!"

"THAT IS ENOUGH!" McGonagall boomed. "I knew that you two wouldn't have the smoothest relationship, given the circumstances, but this? This is _appalling_! I _never_ expected this!"

Albus and I both looked down, ashamed. "Your parents will receive a letter home tonight, and you both have two weeks of detention. No excuses."

We both opened our mouths to protest but McGonagall's eyebrows shot up, silencing us. I sighed and then went to join the rest of the Slytherins, and made my way to my dormitory.

* * *

Detention was hell.

That's right – hell. I don't think it could've got any worse than that. Honestly…it was _terrible_. I had it right after double Transfiguration, which also made matters a _lot_ worse.

And I mean a _lot_.

McGonagall was literally glaring at me with a laser-beam frown that could've _petrified_ me if I made eye contact. The exact same with Albus. Except, his 'glare' wasn't scary. He looked a little lost instead of scary and intimidating, which was _probably_ what he was going for.

"Now, off you go, first-years. Except _you_ two of course," McGonagall pointed at Albus and me, glaring again. I looked straight back into her cold eyes. Not even _she_ could scare _Scorpius Malfoy_. "I've thought of a suitable punishment," she began. "You two shall serve two hours of detention every day for a week."

"What? You want us to just sit here?" I said, sloping in my chair indolently.

"No. You can write lines while you're here." Albus groaned while I snorted with laughter. Lines? That was her big punishment? _Seriously_? "Five hundred each. 'I will not provoke people'," she said, pointing to Albus, "and 'I will not attack other students'," she said, pointing to me.

"Professor, that's not fair! His line's way shorter than mine! And five hundred? That's absurd!"

"Absurdly _lenient_, in my opinion. I could have you both doing something _far_ worse, _especially_ you, Mr Malfoy. Attacking another student, and on the first day of term…It's only five hundred sentences."

"Only…" I muttered, thinking she wouldn't hear.

"Want to make it a thousand?"

"A thousand? But Professor-" Albus started.

"_Two_ thousand! And I am _not_ afraid to go higher! Now, get started, I'll be back in five minutes." She slammed the double doors behind her and it was just me and Potter.

"ARGH!" Albus roared. I was quite taken aback…and bemused. His screwed-up face was actually extremely entertaining.

"What the hell was that all about?" I asked, starting to write my lines.

"YOU! Damnit – you are so _annoying_. First you go strutting around the corridors because you _happen_ to be a Malfoy and you think you're all that because you're in Slytherin! Well you're _not_. Honestly, you have more pride than a herd of Hypogriffs! Oh, I forget, you _are_ in Slytherin, aren't you? God, you're just so…so…" He struggled to find the word.

"Amazing?" I grinned. He rolled his eyes. "And I do _not_ think I'm all that, I _know_ it. _You're_ the one who thinks you're all that, just because you're damned father's got a scar on his head. And you _are_ all that – if that translates into a senseless, raging lunatic!"

"Oh? I'm the lunatic? I'm the lunatic?" He ordered, his eyes the size of Quaffles. "I'm not the one who savagely attacked another student, am I?"

"I told you, I didn't mean to hit you that hard, and I only punched you because you insulted my dad."

Wow. This must've been a record – it was the second day of Hogwarts and there had already been a punch-up in the corridors.

"I didn't insult him; I was just stating the fact!" He sighed in exasperation. "You know what, Scorp? Just completely stay away from me. _And_ my family…that includes _Rose_, too."

_Merlin_, this boy liked theatrical speeches. Talk about _melodramatic_…


	14. Letters of Doom

**So guys, I just wanted to mention that I really appreciate reviews :D Thanks! x**

**By the way, if it isn't as obvious as I think it is, this chapter starts off with Draco's point of view, but we move back to Scorp later. =D enjoy…and review. It only takes a minute :)**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter Fourteen – Letters of Doom**

_**Draco…**_

The house was unusually quiet, with Astoria at work and Scorpius, of course, at Hogwarts. I was sat staring into space, thinking about how Scorpius was doing at school, when there was a sudden _plonk_ as Hootie the owl dropped a letter beside me. Yes – _Hootie_…Scorpius named the owl when he was about five.

I picked up the letter and instantly recognized the Hogwarts crest imprinted on the white envelope. "Oh, no…" I muttered as I opened it and read:

_Mr Malfoy,_

_We are sorry to inform you that your child has received detention for enforcing a minor injury upon another student. As you know, this is a serious issue and will be dealt with as soon as possible,_

_Hoping you are well,_

_Minerva McGonagall,_

_Deputy Headmistress_

Well that was just a complete joke! 'Hoping you are well…' Ha! That woman hated me! She had done ever since my first day of Hogwarts.

But aside from that…I wasn't angry. I was disappointed.

Unless the other student's second name was _Parkinson_…that was a different story altogether!

* * *

_**Scorpius…**_

I'll be honest.

I didn't think Potter was being serious when he told me to stay away from him. After every lesson, he dragged Rose out of the classroom before anyone else could get out, barging through the door like a maniac. When I saw him in the corridors, he'd glare at me and then go in the opposite direction. It was so stupidly immature of him – what was I going to do? Hit him again and get _another_ two week's worth of detention? I don't _think_ so!

I sighed when I walked into McGonagall's classroom for detention. I flopped down in my chair and began rapping my nails on the table out of sheer boredom. Albus shot an irritable look my way. "Must you?"

I smirked. "Must I what?" I carried on doing it nonetheless.

"Do that!" He pointed at my hand. "It's extremely distracting."

"Well, sorry, I need _some_ way to keep myself entertained."

"And you chose that? Sorry, I forgot that clowns are easily entertained." He rolled his eyes.

"A _cloud_?" I frowned.

"Not a cloud, you fool! A _clown_!"

"Oh…and would you care to explain what the hell a clown is?"

He looked more annoyed than ever then. I should get a gold medal for annoying him – I was well and truly talented at it. Like a _lot_ of other things, of course. "You're so dense it's actually shocking, Malfoy."

"Well, it isn't my fault my dad's a halfblood, is it?"

"Yeah – you're just so perfect, aren't you?"

"Yes. Yes I am."

_**

* * *

**_

Draco…

I reread the letter over and over again. My heart sank…it hadn't even been a week and he was already getting into trouble.

I jumped at the sound of someone knocking on the door. Actually – they were literally _banging_ the door down. I opened it to see none other than…Ron Weasley and…_Harry Potter_. What did Potter want? Why the hell was _he_ here?

"What do _you_ want?"

He shoved past Ron and through the door. "I want you to keep your son on a leash!"

Ah. Scorpius had hit Harry's kid.

It was really bad but…I couldn't help feeling a sense of pride.

"I just got a letter saying my son was attacked by your animal of a child!"

"You can't possibly blame me for it! And Scorpius is a reasonable kid, he wouldn't hit anyone unless he was provoked!"

"Hit? _Hit_? It was a bloody _**haemorrhage**_!" Ron cut in.

"Not you, too, Ron! You can't possibly believe this! It even said on the letter – _minor_ injury."

"What do you mean, '_not me too_'? That's my nephew your son hit. Face it – your kid's got anger problems. Bit like you…"

"He does not have anger problems! And nor do I!"

"You know what? Just keep your filthy _mutt_ away from my family."

"He's done _nothing_, Potter! You're just using this against me."

"I don't care what you say, just make sure he stays away from my son. And get him counselling, as well, why don't you? C'mon, Ron."

Ron shrugged apologetically, and walked out, as Harry slammed the door behind them.

* * *

_**Scorpius…**_

"Mr Malfoy, Professor McGonagall wishes to speak with you," Professor Flitwick told me at the end of my Charms class. Oh great – I was even more doomed than I was before…

I sighed in annoyance. I already spent two hours locked in that damned classroom every single day, but still, I made my way to McGonagall's office.

"Yes, Professor?"

"Take a seat, Mr Malfoy." She began. I rolled my eyes and gritted my teeth as I sat down. "The other teachers and I think you need anger management counselling."

I did not know what exactly counselling was…but it was _not_ something good, I guessed.

"I understand." I nodded.

"Do you?"

"No."

She glared at me. "Counselling is something that provides direction or advice as to a decision or course of action." She explained.

Ah – she wanted me to learn how to _not_ be so short-tempered. Grrrr. "We think you have a problem, Scorpius."

"_Be_ _that as it may_," I began, clearing my throat, "you haven't actually known me long enough to come to such accusatory conclusions."

"It's on a Saturday evening, so you will not miss your detentions, either."

"But Professor, detention _and_ counselling? That isn't fair!"

"Well, until you learn to control your actions you will have to face the consequences."

"He was insulting me and my family! I'm sure if it were you you'd say something!" I protested. "It isn't fair and you know it! Why isn't Albus getting these stupid counselling sessions? Oh yeah, he's a Potter and a Gryffindor, course you'd let him off…"

"These are the kind of anger problems I'm talking about!"

"Fine." I muttered and got out of my seat, about to walk out.

"Scorpius? It really is for your own good, you know."

"Mm." I mumbled, and left. I slammed the door shut and started walking to the Slytherin common room. Actually – I was going so fast it wasn't actually walking. More like gliding. Except gliding implies an angelic kind of movement, and I was feeling far from angelic right now. No, I was _severely_ annoyed at that moment.

I shoved past the crowds in the corridor, not even bothering to apologize when I accidentally hit someone. "Ouch!" Came a familiar voice.

Rose.

"Oh…sorry," I mumbled.

"It's OK, what did McGonagall want?"

"Oh, uh, nothing. Doesn't matter. You'd better go; wouldn't want your precious cousin to see us, now would you?" I said bitterly, not meaning for it to come out so cynically.

"He doesn't own me, you know! He can't tell me what to do."

"But your parents can, and I'm sure they wouldn't want you friends with a _Malfoy_."

"What's up with you, Scorpius?"

"Nothing. Doesn't matter," I forced a smile, trying to look pleasant. "I'll talk to you later, OK?"

_**

* * *

**_

Draco…

"Oh, God, what happened, Draco?" Astoria came through the door and saw me sat on the sofa. I was sat normally, but she could probably see my face expression.

"This. Just read it," I muttered, handing her the letter.

I watched her eyes dart as she read the letter.

"Who? Who was the other student?"

"_Albus Potter_," I grimaced. Astoria's jaw dropped slightly. She took a deep breath.

"But…why? What did he say? Albus, I mean."

"Not sure, really. But Ron and Harry barged in here in and gave me a right earful, telling me to keep our filthy son away from their family. And they want him to get counselling. It's totally absurd!"

"Why didn't you sit down and _talk_ like _civilised_ people?"

I frowned. "Why would I want to do that?"

She shook her head and sighed. "Men…" she muttered. "What are we to do then?"

"What _can_ we do?"

"I haven't a clue, to be honest."

Great. Because _that_ helped a lot.

_**

* * *

**_

Scorpius…

"Now Scorpius," the odd lady began, "I want you to take a deep breath."

Holding back my anger, I inhaled obediently.

"Now exhale and repeat. In and out, in and out, in-"

"I know how to _breathe_!" I snapped.

"Very well. Now, tell me what's making you angry." The counsellor said.

"Just one person."

"Who?"

"Albus bloody Potter, that's who! Boy Wonder of Hogwarts! Just like his father, honestly, he's famous around here because his dad's got a stupid _scar_ on his head." I exploded, feeling my blood boil and my skin crawl at the mention of him.

"Why does he annoy you, Scorpius?"

"Because he thinks he knows everything and plainly does _not_. He's just stupid. In fact, that whole family is except…"

"Except who?" The counsellor pushed.

"No-one. _Doesn't matter_." I said, making it extremely obvious I didn't want to talk about it.

But some people just don't get subtle hints, do they?

"You'll feel a lot better if you just let it all out, you know," she smiled. I knew it was a fake smile, though. Stupid woman.

"Yes, well, I don't want to, OK?" And then I stormed out of the room, leaving the counsellor perplexed.

"Watch where you're going!" I snapped as Albus accidentally-on-purpose collided with me. Albus smirked.

"Have fun in there did you?"

"Yes. It was extremely pleasant, actually," I grinned. Albus looked crestfallen at the news. "Thanks, Al, without you, it would have _never_ happened. Thanks, pal."

"You shouldn't lie, you know. Honestly, you're just going in the exact same direction as your dad. Everyone _hates_ you. You're an exact copy of your obnoxious and conceited snob of a dad."

My hands curled into fists and I had to resist the urge to hit him again. "You don't know anything about him."

"About who?" I whipped around to see who had been eavesdropping on our conversation.

Rose.

Again.

"Malfoy's father, that's who," Albus sneered.

"Oh…how was the counselling?" She said. How had she found out? Ah – her demented baboon of a cousin must've told her.

"Forget him, Rose. Our parents told us to stay away from him, remember? He's not even worth our _time_, anyway…"

Albus stalked off and Rose gave me an apologetic smile and followed him.

As for me? I felt like punching something. _**Hard**_.

* * *

**_How'd you guys like it? Go on...review! You know you wanna...it only takes a minute :')_**


	15. The Epitome of Awesomeness

_**Thanks for the reviews, guys :D**_

_**Really appreciate it…**_

**Chapter Fifteen – The Epitome of Awesomeness**

It was safe to say I was extremely annoyed the next day. I never actually knew it was possible for another human being could be so…aggravating ! I mean, there are different types of annoying – the first type is the annoying where you're also kind of funny…the second can only be described in three words:

Albus Severus Potter.

Lysander Scamander and I were roaming the corridors during our free period and happened to cross his path by accident. But the stupidly inhumane baboon took it all the wrong way, as if we wanted to find him or something.

"Following me now, are you?"

"Don't be stupid, Al," Lysander glared.

"Why would we follow _you_?" I laughed. "Where are your 'friends' anyway?" And I used _air quotes_. Oh yeah – I went there.

"Don't know, really," he twitched awkwardly.

"You wanna hang out with us for a while?"

"Really?"

"No!" Lysander laughed hysterically. I grinned.

"Good one!"

"Oh ha ha, that's just so funny, I'm laughing terribly on the inside. Honestly, you're just using sarcasm because your minute brains can't think of comebacks worth saying!"

"Excuse me? I find you highly rude, Potter." I glared.

"Yeah, well, I found your face highly ugly, but I don't complain about it every two seconds."

OK, _that_ was out of order.

When he insulted me, he crossed the line then.

Then he insulted my face.

That was worse than crossing the line. I would not be forgetting that any time soon. He totally outdid himself then…He insulted my face. MY FACE!

"Dude, I would not stand for that!" Lysander looked genuinely shocked.

"Albus, what did I ever do to you?"

"You were born." He muttered. Lysander gasped.

"Dude!" Lysander yelled. "That is just-"

BANG!

Lysander didn't get to finish him sentence, because halfway through it, I stroke at Albus and he fell to the floor, his nose bleeding.

And Slytherin's soul, I felt good after that!

Lysander looked down at Albus and that back at me. "Dude, you just totally punched him."

Talk about stating the obvious.

"Are you on _his_ side or something?" I said, watching Albus walk away, wiping the blood away from his nose.

"No, dude, I'm officially neutral. Like Switzerland. Or a rock," he grinned stupidly, "That is so cool…Lysander 'The Rock' Scamander."

"Lysander, stop saying 'dude'! You are not American! Nor will you ever be!" I shouted, but still smiling nevertheless.

He smirked. "Dude, that punch was impressive. He was just there, all up in your face like 'Dude, you were born,' and then you were just like BANG!"

I grinned, but it was instantly wiped off my face, as a thought came creeping into my mind. "What if he goes to McGonagall?"

"McGonagall Schmcgonagall," Lysander shook his head, "We were never here…Now let's get out of here, dude!"

"STOP SAYING DUDE!" I exploded. "Now come on, let's go!"

"Yeah, but I wouldn't be Lysander if I didn't say dude," Lysander pointed out. His argument was pretty good, actually.

"Fine, go ahead, call me dude," I rolled my eyes.

"No, forget it, the moment's, like, gone."

* * *

McGonagall held me back after Transfiguration that day.

"You may all go," she said, "except you, Mr Malfoy, and you, Miss Weasley." Well, if Rose was being kept behind, I couldn't have been in trouble, could I?

"Yes, Professor?" I drawled, making it plain obvious I didn't want to be there whatsoever. Rose looked at me and frowned, as if she actually _enjoyed_ spending extra time in class.

I smirked. "What?"

"Nothing. Nothing…" she replied quietly. "Professor?"

"I want the truth from you two – what happened to Albus?" Wow. Talk about getting straight to the point!

"I don't know, Professor, sorry," I mumbled, as Rose said something incoherent.

"Where were you during your free period yesterday?" She interrogated.

"I was in the…the library," I lied.

"The library? I know _you_ were there, Miss Weasley, but did you see Mr Malfoy while you were there?"

I looked at Rose, panicking. She took a deep breath as her eyes darted from me to McGonagall. "Yes, Professor, he was in there." She nodded and her vibrant red hair bounced on her shoulders.

I breathed out a sigh of relief. "Very well – you may go. But if you're lying," she said, stopping me in my tracks, "you will be severely punished."

I felt a swamp of guilt fill me up. "Rose…thanks for getting me out of that," I whispered as we walked out of the classroom.

She didn't say anything.

"Rose?" I narrowed my eyes.

"What?" She snapped.

I frowned. "Are you OK?"

"It was you, wasn't it? You hit him again, didn't you?" She said bluntly, increasing the speed at which she was walking.

"Slow down, Rose!" I exclaimed. "And…I only did it because he was really annoying me."

"You heard McGonagall! If – no, when – she finds out, she'll be really angry. And you hit him really hard, you know. You shouldn't have done that. It was just over the top. I just want you away from me. _Now_."

That last part hit me like a rogue Bludger. "Not you as well! I'm sure you'd do the same thing if you were me."

"You need help!" She shouted. "Just…go find a mental hospital and spend a few months there. It'll help."

"I don't need help! I need your stupid cousin to stay away from me." I yelled.

She moved her bright hair from her blue eyes. They seemed to slice right through me, and I couldn't help but feel as if she was looking into my soul and reading my every thought. "And I need _you_ to stay away from _me_." She replied calmly. Then she took a sudden turn in the corridors and stomped off.

I sighed and then heard a voice behind me. "_Dude_, you _like_ her," Lysander said.

"Lysander, shut up, will you? Don't be stupid – she's just a friend. Well, she _used_ to be."

"OK, if you say so," Lysander shrugged. That was one of the things I liked about that guy – he never interfered where he wasn't wanted. "What did McGonagall want?"

I rolled my eyes.

"She wanted me to fess up about Albus."

"Why does she _love_ him so much?" Lysander frowned.

"Probably because he's the son of Harry Potter and every single teacher in this school thinks he's the epitome of awesomeness. _I_ am the one and only epitome of awesomeness. Not him. _Me_."

"Dude, he wouldn't know awesomeness if it slapped him in the face and screamed "Dude, I'm awesomeness!" and I guess being the son of Harry Potter is a contributing factor."

"Harry isn't even that _cool_. You'd think that coolness comes with all the glory of defeating the most powerful Dark wizard in history."

Lysander and I shook our heads pityingly. "Dude, I should get back to the Ravenclaw common room or Flitwick'll freak out."

"See you. And please try not to say dude any more."

"There's a bigger chance of pigs flying. See ya, bon voyage, farewell, ciao and adios. See how awesome I am?" He smirked and walked towards the Ravenclaw Tower, and I made my way to the dungeons, bumping into Rose on the way.

"Hey, Rose," I smiled, hoping she'd forgotten about the little argument we'd had.

"Leave me alone," She muttered, walking right past me.

Yeah…it was safe to say she most definitely hadn't forgotten…

_**

* * *

**_

Draco…

I sat down at my desk and psyched myself up to writing the letter to my father, who had finally been let out of Azkaban.

I wrote:

"_Father,_

_I haven't seen you in a long time and hope you are well. Astoria and I are fine and Scorpius started his first year at Hogwarts last week and is enjoying his time there."_

Well that was a complete lie. Scorpius had already made an enemy, but I carried on writing anyway, and finished the letter quickly.

"_Hopefully I'll be able to see you soon. _

_Draco."_

"Here, Hootie." I mumbled, shoving the letter into the envelope. The tawny owl took the letter and flew out of the open window.

Then I waited, expecting a reply in the form of a letter.

Evidently, my father and I didn't share the same idea of what a letter was. Suddenly, there in front of me, stood my father. I took a deep breath and approached him.

"Don't you dare," he hissed slowly, "don't come _near_ me."

"Father…what's wrong?"

"My grandson…friends with a _Weasley_?" His steel-grey eyes bore through me and his cold voice gave me goosebumps. "You betrayed me…"

"Father, I –"

"No! I don't want an explanation. It's obvious that married life and parenthood has made you _weak_."

"Father, Scorpius is happy, so why shouldn't he be friends with whom he pleases?"

Father drew his wand and a beam of light shot out of the tip. I ducked behind the desk just in time.

"You foul traitor!" He yelled as someone else burst into the room.

"Mother!" I sighed, and father stopped trying to hex me.

"Draco, darling, how are you? What on _earth_ is going on here?" Mother squeaked as she saw us with our wands drawn.

"It's him!" Father hissed. "Draco has let his son become friends with the Potters and the Weasleys! What's next – the Scamanders?" Father ordered.

"Lucius, come on. Draco, I shall speak you later." Mother nodded at me, smiling slightly, and then dragged my father out of the room.

"YOU WON'T GET AWAY WITH THIS, YOUNG MAN!" Lucius yelled, as if I was about fourteen.

"Lucius, get a grip!"

Blimey…

A few hours later, Hootie dropped another letter in front of me.

"_Draco,_

_Your father has been registered in a mental asylum,_

_Love Mum,"_

Talk about brief.

A _mental_ asylum? Had my father really, actually lost the plot? Bloody hell, my father had it bad – first Azkaban, now this?

Maybe he really was crazy. Well, I wouldn't put it past him – he had, after all, nearly killed me a few hours ago.

Astoria came into the room. "Hootie must be bad luck. We need another owl. The only letters he's brought for us have been…well, _bad_."

I sighed. "Who knew that an eleven year old starting school could give you so much stress?"

"What happened?"

"My father got out of Azkaban...he found out that our son has befriended Rose…then he Apparated here and nearly _killed_ me…now he's in a mental asylum. So yeah…pretty successful day if you ask me." I replied sarcastically.

"Does Scorpius know?"

"Nope. Not yet, anyway." I shrugged. "Good day at work?"

"It was alright, I suppose. Stop trying to change the subject! Are you _going_ to tell Scorpius?" She asked, her eyebrows raised.

"I suppose he should know. I'll write to him later."

_**

* * *

**_

Scorpius…

"Hootie! Long time no see!" I stroked Hootie's delicate feathers and he dropped a letter in my lap. I tore off the white envelope and read:

_Scorpius,_

_How are you? We hope you're enjoying Hogwarts!_

_We heard about the Albus incident and just want you to know that we aren't angry, but never want to hear anything like that again. _

_Your grandfather was let out of Azkaban today and visited us after he found out that you and Rose are now quite close friends and isn't very happy about it, so he's gone away for a while. _

_See you soon,_

_Love Mum and Dad,"_

So somehow this was _my_ fault…

Blimey…he'd gone away because I'd 'befriended' Rose. Truth was, I'd actually DEfriended Rose. If, of course, defriended was a word…

Wow…I was spending _way_ too much time with Lysander. I'd be saying 'dude' every two seconds next!

But back to Rose. I wanted to apologize but didn't want to give Albus the satisfaction of hearing me say those words…I could just imagine the smirk on his twisted face if I ever said "I'm sorry."

Mark my words, never in his life will he see me apologize.

Never…

NEVER, I SAY, NEVER!

_**

* * *

**_

But you know what they say, "Never say never", right? :P

_**That doesn't necessarily mean he's gonna apologize in the next chapter, but yanno…I thought that was a good way to end it.**_

_**REVIEW, GUYS! =D**_


	16. Every Rose Has its Thorn

_**OK, as requested, Hootie is officially a recurring character.**_

_**I, for one, think he's totally awesome. :D**_

_**So is Lysander, he is too cool!**_

**

* * *

**

Chapter Sixteen – Every Rose Has its Thorn

"Lysander, stop it!"

"Stop what? Dude, I'm simply stating facts. Rose likes you, how can you not see it?" Lysander said.

"See what? What is there to _see_?"

"I'll tell you later. Lorcan!" Lysander called. "Lorcan, get over here, dude!"

Lysander's twin brother Lorcan whirled around and stared at us. "Dude, you totally missed the punch of the century." Lysander began.

"Seriously? Who got punched?"

"Albus Potter!" Lysander said excitedly.

Lysander and Lorcan were totally identical – the same spiky brown hair and blue eyes. They were both the exact same height, a few inches taller than me. They both shared the same odd habits – they both rolled their sleeves up all the time, they both always had their hands shoved in their pockets and both had a slow, lazy walk. Which was really inconvenient when you're trying to get away from someone, or somewhere.

The only thing that was different about them was which houses they'd been sorted into. Merlin knows how Lysander got into Ravenclaw…and Lorcan was living proof that Hufflepuffs could be cool.

"No!" He gasped. "Who punched him?"

"Dude, it was us! We punched Albus Potter!"

"Actually," I smirked, "it was me."

"Dude, whatever's yours is mine. Your fist is my fist, your spit is my spit, your snot is my snot, and your food is my food…So give me some of that chocolate frog!" Lysander exclaimed.

"Uh, I don't think so."

"Dude!" Lysander looked appalled. "You know what they say, sharing is caring!" And then he pounced. He started _wrestling_ me for a _chocolate frog_!

So I did what I had to do.

I _sneezed_. On the chocolate frog.

It wasn't a real sneeze, of course. What kind of freak can sneeze on demand?

"Still want it now?"

Lysander let go of me and thought for a minute. "Yeah. Like, I said, your snot is my snot, and your food is my food."

"You are disgusting." I grimaced.

"Dudes! Albus Potter got punched and you two aren't filling me in on the details, but you're talking about sneezing on chocolate frogs?" Lorcan demanded. "I want details – and I want them _now_."

"OK, Lor, Scorp'll fill you in. I'm going to get some food, I'm starving." Lysander muttered while he walked away and I began telling Lorcan about what had happened.

"And then he went and told McGonagall! And now we have to come up with some kind of plan to get him back!"

"_PLAN_? GASP!" Lysander yelled on his return. Hootie the owl was perched on his shoulder, holding a letter in his beak.

I frowned. "Why's Hootie here?"

"Dude, calm down. I'm not trying to owl-nap Hootie or anything." He said, chewing a liquorice whip. "I was walking back from the Ravenclaw common room and he just landed on my shoulder, and I figured he was bored, so I brought him along."

"Bored? You mean because he had a letter for me?" Wow. How did this guy survive in Ravenclaw?

"What? Oh…no, he just looked bored."

I rolled my eyes and took the letter from Hootie, who gave me a friendly peck on my finger, and read it:

"_You won't get away with this."_

I laughed at its pointlessness. "Well I wonder who that's from!" I said sarcastically.

"Dude, I know, it could be anyone!" Lysander shook his head and looked at the letter. Hootie hopped affectionately from Lysander's shoulder to mine.

"Lysander…no offence, but how the hell did you get into Ravenclaw?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at him. Lysander shrugged. "Lorcan, please explain to your idiot brother who it is."

"Lysander, who would send this to Scorpius? I mean come on…who?" Lorcan began explaining.

Lysander stared into space for about five seconds, then gasped. "I know who it is!"

"Who?"

"Professor McGonagall!" Lysander grinned.

"No! Albus Potter!" Lorcan shouted. "_Merlin_ – you're dense, aren't you?"

"Oh yeah…didn't think about that." Lysander looked puzzled.

I ignored him. "We need to somehow sabotage him."

"_SABOTAGE_? GASP!"

"Lysander, why are you gasping? I already told you this part," I grinned.

"Dude…you _were_ lacking dramatic effect." Lorcan chipped in.

"So, anyway, Lorcan, being the amazing Hufflepuff legacy that you are, we need you to come up with a plan. Right now, Lysander and I have to go. Come on, Scam," I grinned, walking away with Hootie still on my shoulder.

"Dude, who's Scam?" Lysander asked.

"You! Your second name is Scamander. Scamander…Scam…you know. A _nickname_."

"Well then, I get to call you Mal. Or Foy. Or Alfo!"

"Just stick to Scorp, OK?"

"Sure Alfo."

"Seriously…stop calling me Alfo!" I said irritably.

"Sorry…" He muttered. "But you _know_ that was genius, dude!"

I sighed, but didn't argue. It _was_ pretty genius…

* * *

"Gather round, first years!" Professor Longbottom called. The class suddenly went silent.

It was our first Herbology lesson, and we were having our lesson with the Gryffindors.

"Today, we're going to be learning about Devil's Snare. Does anybody here know what Devil's Snare is?"

I could swear that Rose's hand was up before he'd even finished the question.

"Yes, Miss Weasley?" Professor Longbottom smiled.

"Professor, Devil's Snare is a plant with magical properties and its power is the ability to constrict or strangle its surrounding environment. Struggling or resistance to Devil's Snare will cause the plant to exert a greater force of constriction." Rose explained, beaming. "It's sometimes used for assassination, guarding valuable objects and attacking enemies."

"Very good, Miss Weasley. Twenty points to Gryffindor." Professor Longbottom grinned. "Does anyone know what is fatal to Devil's Snare?"

The class mumbled quietly and I stuck my hand up.

"Yes, Mr…Mr…"

"Malfoy, sir." I added.

"Ah, yes, I thought so. You look a lot like…" He began. "…like your father. But anyway, what is fatal to Devil's Snare?"

"Light and fire are both fatal to Devil's Snare. It will stop its movement in the environment in front of bright light and will recoil away from the heat of fire."

"Very good, Mr Malfoy. Twenty points to Slytherin. Now, before we see some real Devil's Snare, can anyone other than Mr Malfoy and Miss Weasley tell me what Devil's Snare _looks_ like?"

Nevertheless, Rose stuck her hand up.

Professor Longbottom sighed. "Miss Weasley?"

"Sir, Devil's Snare is composed of a mass of soft, springy tendrils, vines and tentacle-like appendages that possess some kind of touch." I looked at Rose as she spoke. Her red-rimmed eyes lacked the usual sparkle they usually had in them. She'd been crying, I was sure of it…But why?

"Excellent!" Professor Longbottom grinned widely. Rose, however, gave a meek smile but still looked miserable. Normally it'd be like she was a radioactive lump of metal, but not today, it seemed.

Was this whole Albus thing _really_ getting her? If that was the reason, I guess I was willing to put my differences aside to make her happy again.

Professor Longbottom dismissed the class and I rushed to catch up with her.

"Scorpius, I thought I told you to leave me alone!" She exclaimed, stalking off at such a high speed I couldn't keep up with her. I grabbed her arm to stop her. "Let go of me!"

"If I let go, do you promise to stay where you are?"

"Fine, just let go!"

I slowly moved my hand away and she stayed where she was, but refused to look at me. "What do you _want_?" She scowled.

"I want to…" I began. "…apologize," I mumbled.

"Sorry? I didn't hear that!" Rose shouted, drawing attention from the other students.

"I'm sorry!" I hissed.

"WHAT?" She yelled.

"I SAID I'M SORRY!"

Well, talk about bad timing.

The whole corridor went deadly silent about a millisecond before I said it. I suddenly heard a familiar voice behind him.

"Didn't I tell you to stay away from us?" Albus drawled.

"Yeah you did. I just chose not to listen to you." I said, without even turning round. Everyone was still crowing around. "Do you guys not have people to see, places to go?" I snapped, and suddenly there was a rumble of speech as the students started mumbling to one another and left. "You too, Albus. Oh yeah, I guess that sentence was a little hard for your minute brain to understand – I'll make it easier for you; _YOU GO NOW_." I said, saying the last part really slowly so that he'd understand.

"See, Scorpius? This is why I'm upset! Albus – I love you when I say this but – you can get _really_ annoying at times. But Scorpius, you just take it way over the top!" Rose shouted.

"Yeah – that's _why_ I'm saying sorry!"

"Well, this time 'sorry' doesn't cut it."

"Seriously, just…just give me one more chance. That's all I'm asking for."

Albus shook his head at her violently. She looked at him and then back at me. "Fine."

"WHAT?" Albus exploded, and pointed to his nose. "This is an outrage, Rose! Look at my nose, I swear it's still askew! Look, just look at it!"

"I told him he's got one chance. If anything else happens, that's it. And I mean it." She said calmly.

"Rose, he's a maniac! A crazy maniac that just goes round _whacking_ people. He's dangerous!"

"You think I'd hurt her? That really _is_ outrageous." I frowned.

Rose's eyes widened. "Albus, Scorpius and I have literally known each other our entire lives, and not _once_ has he laid a _finger_ on me. What's so different now?"

"Trust me…a lot's different," he muttered, and then stalked off.

Rose sighed.

"You don't have to talk to me if it's such a burden, you know."

"Don't be stupid, Scorp! I actually missed not talking to you! Honestly, James and Albus are so immature it's unbelievable! They aren't exactly good conversation-makers. Don't worry, he'll come around soon." Rose rolled her eyes as we started walking down the now-deserted corridor together and I suddenly bumped into Lysander, whose head ping-ponged from me to Rose, and then back again, a smile preying at his lips.

"Told you…" he mumbled, disguising it as a cough. Rose, thankfully, didn't hear.

"Hey…you're _Lysander_ right?"

"Yep, that's me. Well, uh, I have to go, got Charms class. Catch you _later_." He said, really slowly, which translated to: "_Dude, I told you she liked you! I'm going to give you some alone time now!_"

"Lysander it's…it's lunch time." I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Pfft, yeah…what's your point?"

"My point is that you're really stupid," I grinned and heard Rose give a splutter of laughter.

"Maybe I just like Charms, OK? Problem?"

"Would you rather go to Charms, or come with us and eat to your heart's content?"

"Eat, I guess." Lysander shrugged and joined us on the way to the Great Hall.

* * *

"Dude," Lysander smirked, "I totally told you!"

"Why do you _care_ anyway?"

"I'm just saying, this time you need to watch what you say or it could be over for…for _ever_. She's that kind of girl; you never know when she'll turn on you."

"Trust me, I've kind of known her my whole life – I think I know a _little _more about her than you do," I said as I increased the speed I was walking at.

"Dude, I'm just saying, every rose has it's thorn you know."

"Ha ha, that is so extremely tremendously _exceedingly_ funny, I'm _dying_ of laughter on the inside."

"Dude, it…it wasn't a joke."

I sighed. "See you later, Scam."

"Got somewhere to be, Alfo?"

"No, just going back to the common room."

"Sure you're not going to visit your girlfriend first, Alfo?" Lysander smirked.

"She is not my girlfriend!" I protested.

"Dude, chill _out_. It's OK, to let out your feelings, you know. I'm here for you, Alfo," He placed his hand in my shoulder and nodded.

"Merlin, what are you doing?"

"It's called caring."

"Caring?" I repeated.

"Yeah," he nodded, "you are very important to me, you know, Alfo," his voice was dripping with sarcasm.

"Are you having a laugh?"

"No, Alfo, I love you, dude!"

I moved his hand away from my shoulder. "Scam, I think you've had one too many chocolate frogs."

"Get used to it, Alfo, when I get you and Rose together, that's all you're ever going to hear."

"Get lost, Scam."

Did he have to be so embarrassing?

Answer: yes.

"I LOVE YOU, MAN! I'LL MISS YOU, ALFO!"


	17. Not So Merry Christmas

_**I just wanna say thanks to a few people for always reviewing, you guys are awesome, so thanks to:**_

_**xxxLittleMissLoonyxxx, **__**rainbowspring, **__**Creamsodafloat and, **__**Crazy's wat i aim 4**_

_**You guys are awesome! **_

_**Oh and to the person who named their goldfish Hootie after the owl...that is just legendary. No joke. Enjoy!**_

* * *

Chapter Seventeen – Not-So-Merry Christmas

The sun shone down onto the grounds of Hogwarts and there was a light, cool breeze. It was halfway through September, but was very warm for this time of the year.

"Gather round, first years!" Madam Hooch called.

It was our first flying lesson, and – like most of my other lessons – we were having it with the Gryffindors.

Excellent.

"Now, I want you to stand on the left side of your broom and hold out your right hand, and then say very clearly 'Up!'"

There was a loud rumble of speech as all of us tried it. "Up!" I said, and the broom at my feet flew up into my hand at my first try.

"Very good, Mr Malfoy," Madam Hooch said.

I watched Albus as he attempted it. I wondered if he'd be as good a Quidditch player as his dad was. I knew James was on the Gryffindor team. He played as a Beater – he was really good at Quidditch, and it would give me such pleasure if I found out that Albus couldn't play to save his life.

My heart dropped at the sight of his broom flying upwards through the air and into his hand. Who was I kidding – he'd probably make the Gryffindor team by the time this lesson was over, like his dad.

"Very good! Now, mount your broom, and make sure you hold on very carefully, don't want to slip off the end, do we? Then I want you to kick off, hover in the air for a few seconds, and then touch back down."

I mounted my broom and kicked off, and suddenly I was hovering a few feet above the air. I'd barely got off the ground, but it felt amazing. I couldn't wait to learn how to actually fly on one. That really _would_ be amazing.

A light gust of wind suddenly blew my way, and I touched back down onto the ground reluctantly. Both Rose and Albus were finding it as easy as me. Well, they were related to the famous Harry Potter.

Grrrr.

* * *

The warm, sunny weather was soon replaced by the cold bitterness of winter. Snow covered the Hogwarts grounds like a huge blanket. The red and gold leaves on the Whomping Willow wilted and floated down to the ground, eventually blowing towards the evergreen trees of the Forbidden Forest. Hagrid dragged the huge Christmas tree into the Great Hall and it was decorated by Professors McGonagall and Flitwick.

I couldn't believe the term had gone so fast. I wanted to go home and see mother and father but also didn't want to leave Hogwarts. It was like a second home to me now.

"Dude, I'm going to miss you," Lysander said, pretending to wipe an invisible tear from his eye.

"I'll miss you too," I grinned, "_dude_." I added.

"Gasp! You don't say 'dude'!"

"I guess I'm getting into the festive mood," I shrugged.

"Well, I guess I should go get my stuff together, so I'll see you at the feast later, Alfo," I heard Lysander say as he headed off to his dorm.

"Bye, Scam." I rolled my eyes and left for the Slytherin common room.

Platform 9 ¾ was packed with parents coming to collect their children for the Christmas holidays.

"Hey, Scorp!" Mother beamed at me and gave me a hug that literally cut off my blood circulation for a few seconds.

"Ahem," I heard Dad say, "forgotten me already, have you?"

"Course not, Dad! You're too annoying to forget!" I laughed.

"I agree with him on that." Mother nodded, smirking.

I spluttered with laughter. "Dad, we're just joking." I said, and then hugged him.

"ALFO!" Someone yelled. The all-too-familiar voice of Lysander penetrated my ears.

I turned round and spotted him, taller than most of the other first-years.

"WHAT?" I shouted.

"MERRY CHRISTMAS, DUDE!"

Mother looked puzzled. "Who on earth is Alfo?"

I smiled. "Never mind."

And with that we left Platform 9 ¾ and headed home…

* * *

"Well that's that done," mother sighed as she flopped down on the sofa next to me.

"What?"

"The Weasleys and the Potters are coming to our Christmas party tomorrow," she smiled. "That'll be nice, won't it?"

I could swear I heard my heart plummet to the ground at that announcement.

"But I thought Ron wasn't talking to father! And neither is Harry! And are _all_ the Weasleys are coming? But there are loads of them!" I moaned miserably.

"Don't worry, your Dad's apologized and everything's sorted. Besides, it's only for one day, Scorpius." She noticed my miserable-ness. "What's the matter? Aren't you happy to be home or something?"

"Course I am," I answered. "I just don't _want_ to see the Potters tomorrow. The Weasleys, I can manage, but not _them_. Albus will simply glare at me for the whole time, and so will his parents!"

"Come on; tell me what's really wrong. I _know_ it's something else."

"Nothing, honestly," I shrugged.

"Don't lie to me, Scorpius, what is it?"

"I'm not lying! That's it – I just don't want to see them tomorrow, OK?" I said, trying to keep calm. '_Because I know I'll probably end up whacking Albus again and Rose won't ever talk to me again!_' I felt like adding, but didn't.

She nodded slowly. "You'll be fine. Come on, your father and I have got a surprise for you," she said excitedly.

I followed her up to my room. There, on my neatly-made bed, was a long, thin package. I looked at mother. "Is that for me?"

"No, I just brought you up here to show it to you for no reason," she replied sarcastically. "Of course it's for you! Go open it!" She gently pushed me forward and I unwrapped the package, my jaw dropping when I saw what exactly it was.

"Do you like it?" I heard father say. He was stood in the doorway, watching me.

"It's…it's _amazing_!" I stuttered, hardly believing it.

In my hands was a slender, ash-handled broomstick. "But I can't try out for the Quidditch team, I'm too young!"

"So? Doesn't mean you can't have a go outside, does it?"

"Thanks Mom, thanks Dad," That was it – this ridiculously wide smile would be slapped on my face for the rest of the day now.

"Don't thank me," mother said, "thank your Dad, he's the one who bought it."

"Thanks Dad," I said, when Hootie flew through the door and landed on my shoulder, a letter in his beak. I took the letter off Hootie and read it:

"_Alfo,_

_MERRY CHRISTMAS DUDE!_

_I'd write a longer letter, but I'll see you tomorrow anyway, so farewell for now, dude._

_See you soon, Alfo._

_Lysander."_

Tomorrow? What was he talking about?

"Dad, are the Scamanders coming tomorrow, too?"

"Yes, they are, why?"

"Just asking," I shook my head and smiled to myself.

This Christmas holiday was about to get a _lot_ more entertaining…

* * *

"Dude, go put some music on or something. I'm in the mood for Tinie Tempah right now." Lysander requested.

"Tiny _who_?" I frowned.

"Doesn't matter." Lysander grinned. "Where're the Potters, then? Not brave enough to show their faces?"

Right on cue, Mr and Mrs Potter, James, Albus and Lily walked through the door, followed by the many Weasleys. Do you have three spare hours? Because that's how long it'll take me to name each and every one of them…

Molly (senior), Arthur, Charlie, Bill, Fleur, Victoire, Dominique, Louis, George, Angelina, Fred, Roxanne, Percy, Audrey, Molly (junior), Lucy, Ron, Hermione, Hugo and Rose.

Phew. All twenty of them arrived at the same time. It took me about an hour to shake all their hands and welcome them and what not.

Then I got to the Potters…

"Good evening, Mr and Mrs Potter," I said politely.

"Evening," he replied, and shook my hand.

"Hello, Scorpius," Mrs Potter smiled. She was a lot more welcoming than her husband was.

I said hi to James and Lily, but stopped when I got to Albus. The whole room seemed to go quiet as they watched me try and say hello to him without tearing his head off.

"Scorpius," he spat maliciously.

"Hello, Albus." I held out my hand politely and he shook it firmly, and I suddenly got the urge to crush his hand in the process, but I overcame it.

He pulled away and I went back to Lysander, bumping into Rose on the way. "Hi…again," I muttered. "You OK?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

I spotted Lysander behind her, mouthing the words _'Tell her she looks beautiful!'_

She was wearing a long, dark blue dress and her lava-red hair cascaded around her shoulders.

"You…you look really nice, you know." I smiled slightly and waited for her reaction.

Her pale skin turned the exact same shade of red as her hair for a moment in an awkward blush. "Thanks."

Above all the chatter, I could swear I heard Lysander yell something along the lines of "TOLD YA, DUDE!"

I just hoped it wasn't aimed at me.

I carried on, hoping Rose hadn't heard it. "Having a good time?"

"Yeah, it's great seeing everybody again," she grinned. "Honestly, we've only had a day off and James and Albus have already got into an argument about which Quidditch team is better."

I rolled my eyes. "What about Hugo? You hardly _ever_ talk about him."

"Hugo…he never _says_ anything. He just shuts himself in his room and _reads_ most of the time." She said, but I felt myself drifting away as I spotted Albus sneak out of the room, making sure nobody was looking.

I laughed quickly. "Hey, listen, I'll catch you later, OK?" And I rushed off before she could give me an answer.

Albus was silently but swiftly making his way upstairs. I crept up them behind him, making sure he didn't see me. I saw him draw his wand and then open a door in the quiet hallway.

My room.

I felt like shouting my head off, but carried on watching. Merlin knows I can't stand anyone in my room. He slipped inside and closed the door behind him.

So what did I do?

I went and barged in, of course.

"Would you be so kind as to GET OUT OF MY ROOM?" I ordered.

"STUPEFY!" He yelled. I plummeted through the air and slammed against the hard wall, and he darted out of the room and down the hallway.

But I was faster than him.

I caught his arm and then slammed him against the wall and put my wand to his chest. He snatched it off me and threw it to one side, and pulled out his own wand.

"What are you _doing_?" I hissed.

"LET GO OF ME NOW!" He bellowed.

"Shut up! Someone will hear so shut your mouth!"

"NO! LET GO OF ME!"

"What's going-" Rose exclaimed, before she saw what was _going_ on. "Albus, what are you doing?"

"Rose it's not what it looks like-"

"YES IT IS!" I yelled. "He was sneaking around here so I stopped him and he Stupefied me! I'm not the maniac around here, he is!"

Rose's eyebrows furrowed for a moment, and then she stomped away.

"Look! Look what you've done!" I exclaimed.

Albus looked gobsmacked, but didn't protest. I seized my wand from the ground and followed Rose downstairs, but by the time I got down she was nowhere to be seen.

I felt a slight draught and realised the door to the back garden was wide open. I peeked outside. Rain was lashing against the ground. It was freezing cold and pitch black. Rose was sat on the stone steps that led down to the garden, crying.

"Rose?"

"What?" She snapped.

"It's raining."

"So? I like the rain." She wiped her eyes.

I sighed and sat beside her. The wind blew through my hair and whipped my skin, but it was quite soothing and calming, so I enjoyed it. The rain was strong and forceful, the drops so big you could hear them pattering against the ground.

"Why are you crying?"

"Because I am sick and tired of all this! It's always one of you hurting the other! I thought you promised there'd be no more of this!"

"I can honestly say," I replied calmly, "it was _not_ my fault. He shouldn't have been sneaking around here."

"I don't want this any more. You're like my best and oldest friend, you know, Scorpius, and he's my cousin. I don't want you two hurting each other."

"Trust me, I've tried. If he didn't do that, none of this would've happened. I never even did anything to him; he just hated me for no reason!"

"I know, I know…Some Christmas this has turned out to be." She sniffed.

Cue an awkward silence.

"Rose? Rosie, where are you?" We heard Ron call.

She cleared her throat. "We should get inside. C'mon, _Alfo_," she smirked.

"Not you, too!" I groaned. "I get enough of that from Lysander!"

She laughed. "See you." And she went inside…

I was so confused…

What just happened?


	18. What's in a Name?

**Chapter Eighteen – What's in a Name?**

"_So_…" Lysander grinned. "How'd it go?"

"How'd what go?" Excellent. He'd been here for two minutes and he'd already driven me crazy.

"Dude! Stop playing dumb and tell me what happened last night!"

It was the day after Christmas, and Lysander had nothing better to do than wander around our house and raid the kitchen.

"You kind of just disappeared in the middle of your conversation with Rose," he said, promptly before opening another packet of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans. He popped one in his mouth and grimaced. "Dude, I did _not_ know they had squid flavour."

"That's disgusting."

"Disgustingly _awesome_! You try one," he held out the packet and I picked one out at random. I hoped for the best and started chewing.

"Chocolate," I said after swallowing it.

"Dude, I swear that's unfair. I wanted you to get the vomit-flavoured one." Lysander scowled. "Anyway, what happened after you left last night?"

I sighed. "Well I saw Albus going into my room for some reason and I told him to get out, he Stupefied me, Rose found us trying to _kill_ each other, got upset and stuff, and stalked off. Like an idiot, I followed her outside and we talked. There, now you know. Now give me another one of those!" His eyebrows shot up as he handed me the packet.

"You _talked_." He repeated slowly and nodded.

"Yeah. So?" I said, shoving another Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Bean in my mouth. Peppermint, not bad.

Lysander smirked. "Alfo, you can be so dense."

"Yeah, and this is coming from the guy who thought Professor McGonagall sent me a note saying 'You won't get away with this'!"

"For the last time, it could've been her! You're just being modest." He muttered, opening a book he'd been reading.

"What are you reading?"

Lysander suddenly looked up excitedly. "Dude, it is awesome!"

I took the book from him and peered at it.

"_Twilight_?"

"Yeah! It's about this girl called Bella, and she falls in love with this vampire called Edward, but she's also in love with a werewolf called Jacob!"

"How can she be in love with two people?" I frowned.

"Dude, love is a powerful thing," he nodded. "Personally I think she should get with Jacob. Seriously, Edward needs to get a life, crack a smile and find some proper food every now and then, and also stop watching people while they're asleep, I swear that is an offence he should be arrested for!"

I was truly terrified. "He watches her while she _sleeps_?"

"Yeah…how freaky is that?"

"_Very_. I still don't understand how she can love them both, though…" It made no sense whatsoever.

"Scorpius, Scorpius, Scorpius," he shook his head. "Sweet, naïve Scorpius. You've got so much to learn. You know what they say, dude."

"What do they say?"

"Love is a canvas, furnished by nature and embroidered by imagination." He said, sniffing and pretending to wipe his eye.

"_Voltaire_, Lysander, _really_?"

"Dude, sorry, I didn't think you'd know who that _was_. You don't even know what a microwave is. You freak out at the sight of those hairless dogs. You don't even keep your toe nails!"

"Scam…nobody keeps their toenails."

"I do…But I keep mine in a jar like a _civilised_ human being," he grinned. As if it was something to be proud of. "But like I said…you can't even work a microwave."

"It is a Muggle invention and it is _very_ confusing."

"Well Voltaire is a Muggle writer. And I am _very_ familiar with his work!" Lysander said, pretending to take offence.

"Well _stop_ talking nonsense about love. And you can stop talking nonsense about me and Rose, too."

"Dude, why won't you just believe me?"

"Because it's absurd! And even if it _was_ true – _which it isn't_ – it'd never work out anyway!"

"Why not?"

"Because…because she's a Weasley and I'm a Malfoy! Our families _kind_ of hate each other…well, except for our fathers. But that's it – the rest of them hate each other!"

"So this is about your family name?" Lysander said it as if it was the stupidest thing he'd ever heard.

"Yes." I replied with a tone of finality in my voice.

Lysander took a deep breath as if he was about to start blubbing and put his hand to his heart. "What's in a name?" He cried. "That which we call a _rose_ by any other name would smell as sweet!" He made sure he put extra emphasis on the word _rose_.

_Shakespeare_?

Really?

"Seriously, Scam, cut it out! You're not helping."

"The course of true love never did run smooth, Alfo!"

"Lysander…STOP ALREADY WITH THE SHAKESPEARE!"

But that just made things worse. He got down on one knee and took my hand.

"Lysander this is wrong on _so_ many levels!" I hissed.

"What light through yonder window breaks? It is the East, and Alfo is the sun!"

"Seriously, Scam, let go of me! NOW!" I shouted and Lysander broke into hysterical laughter.

"What is going–"

Dad opened the door to the living room and walked in and then froze when he saw Lysander and I. He looked from me to Lysander for about five seconds with a blank expression on his face, before turning around and walking out the door.

"Dude, most dads would freak out if they saw that," Lysander got up onto his feet. "But not yours, it seems. Your dad's–"

"Go home!" I pointed to the door and tried really hard not to laugh.

"Dude, why?"

"Just…just go," I spluttered.

"OK, dude. Catch you later," He said as I steered him towards the door. I pushed it open and shoved him out, but he turned around and grinned at me.

"Dude, don't I even get a hug?" He held his arms out but I slammed the door in his face before he could get inside.

_Wow_, that guy tired me out.

The next time I saw Lysander, Rose _or_ Albus was when we went back to Hogwarts on December 31st, New Years Eve. There was a euphoric buzz on the train as everyone talked about what they'd done during their holidays.

There was a huge feast when we got back. It was truly divine. Afterwards there was a huge New Years' celebration. We all went outside and counted down to midnight, and there was an amazing firework show.

The midnight-blue sky was suddenly illuminated with showers of red, gold, blue, silver, green, pink and orange sparks. The sight was beautiful, and as everyone looked up to the star-dotted sky, the light of the fireworks reflected on their faces.

I was suddenly embraced in a tight hug from behind me. "HAPPY NEW YEAR, ALFO!" Lysander yelled.

I wriggled out of his firm hug. "What is it with you and hugging?"

"I am a _very_ loving person."

"Trust me, I can see it." I rolled my eyes.

"Dude, you know me so well!"

_**

* * *

**_

Draco…

"LOOK!" Ron yelled as he dragged me into his living room behind him.

Arthur, Molly, Ronald and Hermione had invited us over to celebrate the New Year, and – it seemed – he had another amazing Muggle invention to show me. He pointed to a square object made of plastic and metal on his desk.

"It's called a compooper!" Ron exclaimed.

"A _what_?" Astoria frowned.

"Ron! For the last time, it is a computer! Not a compooper!" Hermione laughed. "Watch this."

She began tapping on the rectangular object that came with the…computer. It had lots of different letters on it.

A little box suddenly came up on the screen which said:

_**Harry Potter has logged on.**_

"What does that mean?" I asked, watching the screen of the computer.

"It means that somewhere else, Harry's just logged on. If you type something into this window, he'll receive it on _his_ computer."

Arthur Weasley came and sat down on the chair in front of the computer. "Let me try it!" He exclaimed. He used this mouse-shaped object to navigate around the computer and clicked on Harry's name.

"Dad, you use this thing here, called a keyboard and type your message into _that_ window, OK?" Ron pointed.

"OK, son. What is a _key_?" Arthur questioned.

"Those little buttons you use to type," Ron pressed down on one of them with an S on it, and a small S appeared on the screen. He carried on typing:

"_Hello, Harry." _

And to my surprise, Harry replied.

"_Hello, Mr Weasley, how are you?"_

"_**Merlin**_!" Arthur gasped, taken aback. "What does this one do?" He pressed down on the key he was asking about.

"OH! IT DOES CAPITAL LETTERS, TOO!"

"_IM OK THANK YOU11111"_

"Hermione, why isn't my exclamation mark working?" He demanded. Hermione giggled.

"Try pressing the key named 'Shift' at the same time."

"Oh." Arthur mumbled.

"_!"_

"_Having fun, Mr Weasley?" _Harry replied back.

"_This Muggle contraption is most fascinating!" _Arthur typed. _"Draco says hello."_

"I did not!" I exploded. "I did not say hello!"

Harry waited a long time before replying.

"_Oh, well, Lily and James are arguing, I should go. Talk to you some other time." _

_**Harry Potter has logged off.**_

"Well _that_ was awkward," Astoria pointed out.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you guys'll work it out soon," Ron mumbled. "Why don't we just switch the computer off now?"

"Yeah, come on Draco, just forget about it," Astoria said reassuringly.

Hermione chipped in. "You know what? You two should get together and sort out your differences, both tell your sides of the story and then I'm sure you'll be good friends."

"Hermione, you _are_ living in gaga land, aren't you? We will _never_ be friends."

"Trust me, it'll work. You come round tomorrow night, and by the time you leave I can guarantee you'll be friends."

Yeah, like _heck_…

* * *

_**Scorpius...**_

"Dude!" Lysander said excitedly.

"Yeah?"

"Have you heard Far East Movement's song? I swear it is epic! It's called Like a G6."

"A cheese stick?" I frowned, how did Lysander know so much about Muggle…stuff?

"No! Why would you sing a song about a _cheese stick_, Scorp?" He narrowed his eyes as if I was insane. "Do you listen to any music whatsoever?"

"Not really. I'm guessing _you_ do."

"Obviously! But really…not even a little Chris Brown?"

"Nope."

"Lady Gaga?"

"_What_ did you just call me?" I demanded.

Lysander rolled his eyes. "At least tell me you've heard of Bruno Mars?"

"Mars? I thought that was a planet!"

_Muggles_ these days. Naming singers after planets? What was next?

"Scorpius, quick, get rid of that attitude and turn on the charm, dude. You're girlfriend'll be here in three, two–"

"Hey, guys!" I heard Rose say happily.

"See you, dudes." Lysander winked.

Or it _could've_ been a twitch.

"I'D CATCH A GRENADE FOR YA!" Lysander yelled as he bounced down the corridor.

"Scorpius…" Rose swallowed, looking utterly terrified. "What on earth is Lysander doing?"

"I…just don't ask, Rose." She gave a meek smile and took a deep breath. "Thanks, by the way." She muttered.

"What for?" I asked, puzzled.

"Keeping your promise. You've both stayed away from each other."

"It hasn't exactly been hard. We've been on holiday for two weeks," I muttered as we simultaneously started walking side by side.

"But still, I appreciate it."

I gave an awkward smile. People didn't really say thanks to me a lot. I looked down and realised we'd stopped moving. I looked back up only to find that Rose was looking right into my eyes, her eyes wide and bright. We held the gaze for a few seconds and my heart began to race.

"AHEM." I saw Lysander walk by, clearing his throat a little too loudly.

I looked away and threw a swift glare at him, seeing a smirk appear at his lips. The silence was broken by the sound of the bell chiming, signalling it was time to get to our common rooms.

"See you." Rose mumbled, and then walked away.

My heart rate slowed down again.

Oh, no.

Oh, no, no, no!

I think I'm falling for a _Weasley_!

Well _this_ ought to be interesting…


	19. Long Live Pluto!

_**And in this special chapter…THE RETURN OF HOOTIE!**_

_**Enjoy, and by the way, it's really quite annoying when you favourite the story or whatever without reviewing. So yeah, please review :D**_

_**If I say it inspires me to write more, will you do it?**_

_**Go on…you know you WAAAAAANT TOOOOOOO!**_

_**

* * *

**_

**Chapter Nineteen – Long Live Pluto!**

Right let's just get one thing straight.

I AM _NOT_ FALLING FOR ROSE WEASLEY! EXCLAMATION MARK!

So just forget everything I said yesterday. And I mean _everything_. I simply got caught up in the moment. We're just good friends and nothing more, so don't be getting any funny ideas. And by _funny_, I mean the seeing-your-teacher-outside-of school kind of funny, not the ha-ha kind of funny, if you know what I mean.

I'm making no sense whatsoever, am I?

Oh yes, these were the thoughts that were whirling through my brains as I ate breakfast and made my way to Potions, my favourite lesson. Usually I love Potions, mainly because I excel in the subject (what am I on about? I excel in every subject!), but today I really wasn't in the mood to mix horned slugs and crushed snake fangs to make a Boil-Cure Potion.

And a certain someone had to make things _that_ much worse.

I'd gathered all my ingredients and had everything set up, but realised I hadn't grabbed any dried nettles. So, like an idiot, I left my cauldron unattended while I went and got some.

Bad idea.

Why, you ask? Well, it all had something to do with Albus bloody Potter.

As soon as I came back to my cauldron, I started stirring and… _**BOOM**_!

Blue gloop flew all over the dungeon and splattered all over the walls. It went _everywhere_.

I have to say, my hair looked quite good with blue highlights.

But that was completely BESIDE the point. How could he do something like that? Words couldn't even describe my anger at him.

My hands curled into fists as I tried really, really hard not to lose my temper. "Professor Slughorn…would you be so kind as to GET HIM OUT OF THIS CLASSROOM? RIGHT NOW!" I exploded. Albus sniggered. I felt a desperate urge to hit him again. Hard.

"Whatever is the matter, Mr Malfoy?" Professor Slughorn frowned.

"HE RUINED MY POTION! HE SABOTAGED ME!" I yelled, wiping the blue stuff off my face. I looked over at Rose. After all, she was the reason Albus wasn't bleeding to death yet. Her jaw fall and eyes widened as she stared at Albus with a look that said "_I CAN NOT BELIEVE YOU JUST DID THAT_!" He shook his head in denial.

By this point, the entire class had gone silent.

"Mr Malfoy, you need to calm down. I'm sure he did no such thing. Perhaps you added too much Flobberworm Mucus. I'm pretty sure you're overreacting." Professor Slughorn said calmly.

I, on the other hand, was having trouble keeping calm.

Albus came towards me. "I didn't do anything, Scorpius." He said, shaking his head.

Well, you learn something every day, don't you? Today I learned that Albus Potter is an extremely good actor.

"See? Now, go get yourself cleaned up. Albus, help him will you?" Professor Slughorn nudged him.

"I don't need him!" I spat.

"Mr Malfoy will you calm down?" Professor Slughorn ordered. "Give him a chance."

"I don't want to give him a chance! I don't want anything to do with him!"

"Scorpius," Albus said gently, frowning, as if he was really concerned, "I'm just trying to help."

_Merlin_, he was so convincing!

"I'M NOT THE ONE WHO NEEDS HELP, IT'S _YOU_! TRUST ME; YOU NEED ALL THE HELP YOU CAN GET!" I yelled.

"Mr Malfoy that is quite enough!" Professor Slughorn said, raising his voice slightly. "Now go and get yourself cleaned up!"

I swallowed, trying to hold back my temper. My hands were still curled into fists so tight that my nails were digging into my skin, but it was the only way I could stop myself from not hitting him again.

_Just calm down, _I told myself, _you're Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy! Don't let him get to you…he's not even worth the time of day. Forget him. _

I threw a glare his way and the rest of the class buzzed into action again, as did Professor Slughorn, who was busy checking some Gryffindor kid's potion.

"Excellent! It's flawless, twenty points to Gryffindor!" Professor Slughorn exclaimed.

Meanwhile I was having big problems. Everything I thought about seemed to be intrinsically linked to Rose.

And I didn't know why.

Like in Transfiguration. I was drifting off to my own world like I always do in that lesson when somebody called "Professor McGonagall!" Then I couldn't help thinking…Transfiguration…Professor McGonagall…Gryffindor…Rose…ARGH!

And yes, those were my _exact_ thoughts.

_NO! STOP RIGHT THERE, SCORPIUS! YOU DO NOT LIKE ROSE WEASLEY! NOR WILL YOU EVER!_

"Scorpius," I heard her mutter from behind me, once we were out of Transfiguration.

Her voice seemed to penetrate me and I froze as I heard her voice. "Yes?" I replied, not bothering to turn round. She caught up with me and started talking.

"Are you…OK?" She asked warily.

"No, I am _not_ OK! Why would you even ask that?" I snapped. Oops, I didn't mean for it to come out sounding that malicious.

"Look, just calm down. I've come to sort things out." Albus suddenly appeared at her side. I _actually_ shuddered at the sight of his face.

"Get. Him. Away. From. Me." I said slowly, as if he was some kind of extremely contagious disease.

"Look, I don't like this any more than you do."

"Then why are you here?" I hissed.

"Because she dragged me here!"

"Hey, dude!" I heard Lysander say. "Do you know where my-" He started.

Then he spotted the situation.

His eyes darted from me, to Albus, to Rose and he realised it was serious.

"I'm just…gonna go," he mumbled, "talk to you later."

Wow.

I was astounded.

For once he didn't say something completely stupid and irrelevant in an awkward situation.

And this was _Lysander_ we're talking about!

I felt such an odd mixture of pride and mortal terror.

Actually…mostly mortal terror.

"Carry on…" I said, looking at Rose.

"All I want is for you two to sit down and work things out…"

_**

* * *

**_

Draco…

"Right, you two are going to work this out _right_ now!" Hermione exclaimed, sitting Harry down on the sofa next to me. He glared.

"What're you doing here?" He mumbled.

"Oh yeah, because Hermione's going to sort this out without me being here, isn't she?" I glared back. Hermione, Ginny, Astoria and Ron looked at each other nervously.

"This is what I'm talking about!" Hermione pointed at Harry, "You need stop end this grudge right now."

"What about him?" Harry shouted, pointing at me.

"_He_," Hermione began, "has made friends with me and Ron. He's willing to make friends with you. _You_ aren't, though."

Harry opened his mouth to protest, but didn't say anything.

"That's better." Hermione said with a tone of finality in her voice.

Funny how _she_ was leading this grudge-breaking session.

"Now, Harry, I want you to state your side of the story." Hermione ordered, sounding a lot like a lawyer or something. "_And_," she pointed at me, "_you're_ not allowed to say anything while he's talking."

Harry sighed in exasperation. "Since the first day of school, he has been against me the whole time. And he still is and I don't know why. There. Simple. I'm done."

Hermione frowned at him. "Whatever. Draco, go ahead."

"I'd like to start by saying that I actually offered him my friendship, but he rejected me." I began. "And sorry, but you're the one who walked the corridors of Hogwarts like '_Oh, I'm Harry Potter, I'm the Chosen One, fear me_!' and that was _really_ annoying."

"I did not! I _didn't_!" Harry protested.

"This is what I mean by annoying."

"That is it! I'm leaving," Harry got up and marched to the door.

"You'll be missed _dearly_," I smirked.

And Hermione looked more annoyed than ever.

_**

* * *

**_

Scorpius…

I could kill Rose.

And I don't say that often.

She'd chosen a deserted spot and sat Albus and I down side by side. "Right, Scorpius, tell us your side of the story, please."

"Look, I don't have a problem with him. I am very willing to put my differences aside and become friends with him, but _no_, he has to provoke me all the time and sabotage my damn Boil-Curing potion!"

"Albus, your turn." Rose stated.

"It's him! He prances around just because he's in Slytherin and he's a Malfoy!" Albus continued waffling on but I wasn't paying attention. Because for some reason, I was staring at Rose the whole time.

_Look away, Scorp, just look away!_

But I didn't look away. Her eyes flickered in my direction for a second and our eyes locked for a moment, before she turned red and looked away, swallowing.

"And he's just so vain it's unbelievable!"

"Fine, Scorpius if you stop being so 'vain' and Albus, if you stop provoking him, will you two _try_ to get along?"

Neither of us replied.

"OK, I know you two will never be best friends or anything, but please, for me, just try not to kill each other. Please."

"Fine," we both mumbled simultaneously.

"YOU THINK YOU'RE COOLER THAN ME!" Lysander warbled. I think he was singing another song, but I wasn't sure. If he was, he was most definitely out of tune.

"That's because I am cooler than you," I smirked. We had a free period and Lysander was singing his way through it.

"Dude, you are so not. You don't even know who Bruno Mars is!"

"HE'S NAMED AFTER A PLANET!" I protested.

"AN EXTREMELY COOL PLANET!"

"I disagree. I think Pluto's cooler." I argued.

"Dude, Pluto isn't even a _planet _any more!"

"Just because a bunch of stupid Muggle scientists think Pluto is too small to be a planet any more, doesn't mean we all do. Pluto's awesome! LONG LIVE PLUTO!" I exclaimed, grinning. Lysander looked shocked.

"And you think _I'm_ weird."

"Just tell me one thing. Tell me there are no singers named after Pluto." I grimaced.

"No, there aren't. But," he continued, "There is a dog named after it. He's Mickey Mouse's sidekick. He's cool, I guess."

"A dog?" I repeated.

"Yep."

"A _dog_ named _Pluto_?"

"Dude, for the last time, _yes_! Why do you sound so scared?"

"Why would I be scared…IT'S JUST A DOG NAMED PLUTO!" I shouted.

"Would you be scared if I said it was one of those _hairless_ dogs?"

"Uh…_yes_! They're freaky! All that skin…it's disgusting!"

"Dude, you are such a wuss it's unbelievable!"

"But you love me anyway," I smirked.

"Dude…do you know how wrong that sounds?" Lysander blinked.

And I almost vomited.

"Scam!" I exclaimed. "I meant a brother kind of love!"

"Yeah, I know, still sounded wrong though. I mean–"

"NO!" I yelled, cutting him off. "DON'T EVEN GO –" But I was cut off by the sound of Hootie flapping into the room.

"Hootie? What's wrong?" I could always tell when there was something wrong with him. Of course, being an owl, he didn't reply. He had a small envelope in his beak, so I took it out and read it.

"_Mr Malfoy,_

_Please drop by my office later today,_

_Thank you,_

_Professor McGonagall."_

Lysander was reading it over my shoulder. "Hey, what do you think this is all about?"

"Oh, dude, I totally forgot to tell you! Professor McGonagall told me to tell you to go see her in her office later."

"Yeah…that's what it says on here."

"I know but I forgot and…oh, whatever."

"That's it, I'm buying you a Remembrall for your birthday." I rolled my eyes and he grinned, probably not realising I'd just insulted him.

Well, it was Lysander we were talking about…

"You wanted to see me, Professor?" I said as I stepped over the threshold of Professor McGonagall's office.

"Yes, take a seat, Mr Malfoy."

"What is it, Professor?"

"It's about Rose. Rose Weasley…"

_**

* * *

**_

How's that for a cliffhanger? Hehe, review guys! What do you want me to do, beg? Pfft! Anyways, sorry I took so long with this chapter, I was up to my usual business. You now, freaking out about school and stuff…yeah…I'll shut up with my life story not but, uh…hope you liked it!


	20. Oh, There You Are, Hootie!

_**This Chapter's dedicated to Shaima (again!) HAPPY BIRTHDAY! =D**_

_**So I hope you guys like this chapter, it's quite a bit longer than the others but I guess that's because it includes Draco, Scorpius, Rose and Albus's POVs. Thought it'd be interesting for you readers to see what other people are thinking ;D**_

_**Anyhow, here's Chapter Twenty…READ, ENJOY AND (PLEASE!) REVIEW! **_

**Chapter Twenty – Oh, There You Are, Hootie!**

_**

* * *

**_

Draco…

Ron gasped. "It's on!"

"What's on?" I requested, puzzled.

"Phineas and Ferb!" Ron exclaimed. Wow, he really _had_ lost the plot. "It's this amazing television show about these two boys who…actually, just watch it!"

I shrugged and sat down on the sofa next to him. His eyes were glued to the screen. There was a short boy with an odd-shaped head and a tuft of red hair on the screen. Ron pointed. "Look, _that's_ Phineas. The one next to him is called Ferb. Ferb doesn't say much. He's more of a man of action," Ron explained, while shovelling ice cream into his mouth at such an alarming rate I was surprised he wasn't dead from major-brain-freeze.

"Ferb…? What's that short for?"

"Nopoppy fows," Ron mumbled through a mouthful of ice cream.

"Excuse me?"

Ron swallowed. "Nobody knows," he shook his head. I frowned. What a complicated show.

"_Doofenshmirtz evil incorporated_," Someone sang in the TV.

"What is a Doofenshmirtz, Ron?"

"Not what, but _who_! That evil scientist there! And you see Perry? That…erm…blue-greeny thing on the screen? I think it's called a platypus, but anyway, he and Doofenshmirtz are arch enemies." Ron explained.

"Ah." I nodded. "Enlighten me. What on earth is a Gloominator 3000-inator?"

"He makes a different machine in ever episode and calls them something-inator. Yeah…he has a lot harebrained plans that aren't exactly thought through."

"Oh. So does Perry just wander around the…the…" I began, not knowing whether to say town or village or whatever.

"The Tri-State Area. But no, Phineas and Ferb are Perry's owners." Ron explained.

"But…Phineas and Ferb don't know that Perry's a secret agent, right?"

"Right. They're completely oblivious of what Perry is."

We watched for about five minutes.

"Ron? Ron, are you in here?" We heard Hermione call from the front door and then a door slam.

"In here, 'Mione!" Ron replied.

"Oh, hello Draco. Didn't know you were here. Anyway, I've just got back from…what are you _watching_?" She said as she walked into the living room.

"Phineas and Ferb!" Ron said as he plonked the empty ice cream tub on the table.

"_Okay_ then." Hermione muttered and made her way to the kitchen.

"Oh! I've always wanted to try this!" Ron exclaimed and cleared his throat. "Draco, I know what we're gonna do today!" But somehow, it didn't sound as good as it did when Phineas from inside the TV said it.

"Ron, it…it doesn't work without an American accent. Sorry," I smirked. Ron grabbed a cushion from the sofa and threw it at me. I ducked just in time and…the cushion went flying through the air and smashed through a vase that was mounted on a shelf in the living room, causing tiny shards of glass to fly everywhere.

"Well…that wasn't meant to happen." Ron muttered.

"RON!" Hermione yelled. "What was that?"

I looked straight back at him, before grabbing my jacket and bolting for the door. "See you!" I muttered and slammed the door behind me.

I didn't leave straight away, but listened at what was going on inside, for entertainment purposes only. I would've stayed, but the wrath of Hermione was one I really wanted to avoid.

I heard Hermione talking. Then Ron muttering. And then…

"RONALD!" She yelled, while I struggled in keeping in my laughter.

"It wasn't just me! It was him, too, and I can guarantee he's stood outside the door, listening!" I heard footsteps getting louder and louder and I ran round the corner before Hermione threw open the door and looked around. And, boy, did she look annoyed.

Thank god I wasn't Ron…

_**

* * *

**_

Scorpius…

"Huh?" Was all I could manage to say. Obviously, I was terrified. After all, it isn't every day the Head of Gryffindor asks you to come to her office and say something like that, is it?

I was really worried now. I was wondering about a lot of things - had there been an accident? Was Rose OK? Why was I listing questions? You know, that sort of thing.

"I'd like to talk to you about Rose Weasley, Mr Malfoy." She saw my facial expression. "Oh, don't be worried, Scorpius, it's not a bad thing. It's actually quite a good thing." She nodded.

_SO YOU JUST HAD ME GOING SILENTLY DEMENTED FOR NOTHING? THANKS A LOT, MCGONAGALL! REALLY APPRECIATE THAT!_

Still, I breathed a sigh of relief. "What is it, then?"

"Well, since Rose's levels are extremely and unusually high for a witch of her age, and since she enjoys learning so much, I was wondering if she'd enjoy helping out in my other classes, you know, whenever she has free periods or something. And I wanted to ask your opinion on whether or not she'd be suitable for it." McGonagall explained.

"My opinion? Why mine?"

"Well you are one of her best _friends_, you know."

"Oh, well…" I muttered, "Yeah, I think she'd be good for it." I said, not knowing what else to say. Thankfully I was saved by the bell and I ran out of McGonagall's office like a ninja…

"You don't watch Phineas and Ferb?" Lysander said, looking shocked.

"For the last time, Scam, _no_, I don't." I grinned. "And I can't see what's so awesome about a guy with a triangular-shaped skull, a secret-agent platypus in disguise and an evil German scientist?" I thought for a moment. "I change my mind, that _does_ sound pretty cool."

"Just wait till you see it, dude! It is _truly_ epic."

"Hey, guys," I heard a familiar voice say behind me.

I turned around and froze at the image of Rose smiling at me. Lysander examined us for a few awkward seconds. "Bye, dudes. Well, you're not really a dude, you're more like a…like a dudette," Lysander grinned at Rose.

"Uh, where are you going?" I asked, trying to make conversation.

"Library, got homework," Lysander muttered. "Later, Scorpius, Rose," he nodded and walked away.

And I silently stared to freak out.

I swallowed nervously. Argh! Why was I so nervous in her presence? I was never like this. Not with _anyone_. "So, uh…nice weather, huh?"

"Scorpius, there's…there's a huge storm outside."

"Oh, uh, yeah. Anyway, good day?" I muttered, while thinking: '_Why are you such a goofball?_'

"Oh, yes, it's been great!" Rose beamed. "You?"

"I suppose it was alright. Had History of Magic though. _Yawn_," I rolled my eyes and she giggled. I'd always loved her laugh – it was like music to my ears.

Cue an awkward silence as our eyes lock.

"Say…why does Lysander suddenly disappear when I come?" She enquired.

"Oh, uh," I started, panicking, thinking of something to say. "He…doesn't like strangers…they make him nervous."

"Oh, so he has Xenophobia?" She looked at me expectantly.

_THINK OF SOMETHING TO SAY, QUICK!_

"Yeah." I nodded.

Wow. When did I become so _demented_?

* * *

"So what do you think?" Lysander asked again.

Good _lord_. Yet another stupid statement from Lysander.

"Huh? What? Oh, um, I guess it's a copper kind of colour." I replied

"Really? Personally I thought it was a terracotta sort of tone." Lysander nodded, his eyebrows raised.

"Well then why are you asking me?" I snapped.

"Alfo, this concerns you."

"_How_ does it?"

"Well I'm trying to decide what your kids will look like in fifteen years when you and Rose are married. So let's go through it again."

I groaned. "_Why_?"

"So your first child will be named after, me, got it?"

"NO!" But Lysander simply carried on.

"And then the second child will be my godchild, OK?" I heard him call as I stormed downstairs to the Slytherin common room and slammed the door behind me. I didn't even know why I was so angry. Normally I would've laughed something like that off, but not today it seemed.

I opened the door to the boys' dormitory, expecting to see Hootie sat on the windowsill like he always is at this time of the day.

But he wasn't.

So, naturally I panicked. Well, what else are you supposed to do when your owl (whom you've owned for about seven years) suddenly disappears?

I took a deep breath. _Don't panic. He's probably in the Owlery. Makes sense for an _owl_ to be in the _Owlery_, doesn't it? But he's never in the Owlery at this time of the day…_

The bell rang and I made my way to the Great Hall for dinner, bumping into Lysander on the way. "Dude, where did you go?"

"I…uh, had to check something. Sorry about earlier, Scam."

"S'okay, Alfo," He replied.

"Hey, uh, do you know where Hootie is?"

Lysander spluttered with laughter.

"Scam, why are you laughing?"

"You sounded like Phineas! You know…Phineas…from Phineas and Ferb…except he says "Hey, where's Perry?" but you said…am I over-explaining this?"

"Just a little, anyway where is he? Do you know?" I asked again, irritably.

"Yeah, I think he was looking for you…he had something for you. Anyway it was my free period and McGonagall said I was disrupting other students with my constant singing. I don't know why she was complaining… it was only Bruno Mars! If it was Justin Bieber I'd completely understand! But whatever, she told me to take him to the Owlery, so yeah…he's there." Lysander grinned.

Ah…_relief_.

"Hey, listen, I'll see you later, OK?" I said, and headed for the Owlery to get whatever Hootie wanted to give me.

Big mistake.

I walked into the Owlery and saw a certain someone in there. Yeah – you guessed right. Rose Weasley – the girl who seemed to appear wherever I went. It was just like magic.

Wow. I _just_ noticed how ironic that was.

OK, so I was faced with two options:

I could either turn around and run away and pretend I never left the Great Hall.

I could walk in and try and be normal…but probably end up failing.

So what did I do? Yeah, like the goofball I am, I walked in and cleared my throat.

"Hey Rose," I smiled…without stuttering. Wow – I think I'm getting somewhere.

She gasped and whirled around. "You scared me!"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to," I said gently. "How come you aren't downstairs with the others, then, Weasley?"

"I could say the same about you, Malfoy," she grinned. "What are you smirking at?"

"It's part of the Malfoy code of conduct – smirk, _always_!" I, er, smirked.

She laughed softly. "Anyway, I came to see Dragon."

"Dragon?" I repeated.

"My owl." She explained.

_Well I didn't think it was a _real_ dragon_…

I frowned. "Why the hell did you name your owl Dragon?"

"Why did you call your owl Hootie?" Rose raised her eyebrows and smiled.

I thought for a moment, thinking of a good comeback. "Because…I was about _three_, OK?" I retaliated defensively.

_Some comeback…_

"Scorpius, you use that excuse for everything!"

"Well…a lot of stuff happened when I was three," I protested, trying not to laugh.

I watched Rose as she walked over to the window and looked at the Hogwarts grounds in the distance and then followed her. "How's Albus been lately?" I asked.

Rose swallowed and hesitated before answering. There was a gust of wind and her hair cascaded around her pale face. Her firey-red hair complimented her skin tone and sky-blue eyes perfectly…

_**

* * *

**_

Rose…

I saw him look at me out of the corner of my eye. His own steel-grey ones mirrored his soul – mysterious and inexplicable. His facial expression was unfathomable… something I _really_ hated.

"Albus was…well, he's alright, I suppose," I mumbled as he looked at me expectedly. That was a complete lie though – he'd been ranting and raving about Scorpius since the Potions accident, explaining how it wasn't him and everything.

"Are you two talking?" Scorpius proceeded.

"No, not after…well, not after what happened in Potions. He said he wouldn't do anything to you and he broke his promise. You would think that with having _Harry Potter_ as a father he'd be at least a_ little _decent." I sighed. Scorpius tilted his head to the side slightly as he thought about what I'd just said.

"I don't think being the son of Harry Potter has anything to do with it, personally." He half-smiled. "I mean…you're his niece and you turned out OK, didn't you?"

"OK?" I grinned.

"Well…that's an understatement…you actually turned out perfect."

_**

* * *

**_

Scorpius…

OH NO!

DID I JUST SAY THAT?

_Oh, Merlin, _please_ let this be a dream, _please_!_

Luckily Hootie came swooping through one of the large windows and saved the day. God, I owed that owl _so_ much.

"Oh, there you are, Hootie!" I exclaimed and Hootie sat on my shoulder and pecked my finger affectionately as I reached up to stroke him, while Rose busied herself with the other owls, obviously trying to forget what I'd just said, a lot like I was.

"Got anything for me then, Hootie?" I held my hand up to his beak and he dropped a white envelope in my hand. "Good boy," I muttered.

Inside was a letter from mother. I read it and decided to reply later when I got back to the Slytherin common room. Right now, my stomach was trying to tell me something. It was rumbling louder than a _foghorn_, so I decided it was food time for me.

"Uh, Rose, I'm going to head to the Great Hall, you coming?"

"Yeah, in a minute. You go ahead, Scorp," she muttered as I left the Owlery…

_**

* * *

**_

Albus…

I couldn't help scowling all the way through dinner.

I skimmed the Gryffindor table once more. Rose was still missing.

I skimmed the Slytherin table yet again. Ditto Scorpius.

What the hell was going on? Were they together or what? If so, _where_ were they?

"God Albus, lighten up, you grumpy sod!" James frowned. "Eat something!"

"I'm not hungry."

My attention was then drawn to the Slytherin prince himself walking into the Great Hall. Where had he been? And _where_ was Rose?

Right on cue, she entered the Great Hall about a minute after Scorpius. I knew something odd was going on…

Then I remembered my promise to Rose. She didn't want me and him talking, and she was currently refusing to speak to me…

But promise or no promise, I'm going to find out _just_ what's going on!


	21. Valentine's Day Blues

Yes, yes, I KNOW it's been quite a long time but…I've been diagnosed with writer's block…But here it is…and it is DEFINITELY worth the wait! ;) Review…if you have a heart! Go on, it's Valentine's Day…where's the love, dudes?

* * *

**Chapter Twenty One – Valentine's Day Blues**

_**Lysander…**_

"Where. Were. They?" Albus asked again, his voice more venomous than before.

"I said I _don't know_," I repeated fiercely for about the sixth time.

Seriously…this guy needed to chill _out_.

"Don't lie, Lysander."

"I'M NOT LYING!" I yelled. "Now," I said calmly, "it would give me _great_ pleasure if you would _please_ leave me alone FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE!"

"All I'm asking is for you to tell me where Scorpius was last night."

"Why do you care?"

"Tell me and you'll find out." His voice was so droningly monotonous. He outstretched his arm even further so that he was practically poking me with his wand.

"Dude, you're kind of invading personal space, if you know what I mean." I grinned.

"I wouldn't have to if you just _told_ me!"

"Hey, do you guys…" came the voice of some Gryffindor girl before she saw the situation. "Oh, uh…I'll just…go. This looks like an 'it-ends-here' moment…see you." She mumbled.

Albus looked back at me. "So? Go on…"

"I don't know and even if I did I wouldn't tell a _slimeball_ like you!"

The last thing I heard was the sound of fist hitting flesh.

His fist.

My flesh.

My face, to be exact.

Then everything went black…

_**

* * *

**_

Albus…

Lysander fell to the ground with a loud thump. Everything went silent for a moment, until I heard a familiar voice calling his name.

"Lysander?" I heard Scorpius call. "Scam, you up here?"

I panicked. I had to get out of here fast. I concentrated and pulled out my wand. "Obliviate," I whispered, and then fled before Malfoy spotted me…

_**

* * *

**_

Scorpius…

I turned a corner in the hallway and saw Lysander.

Only he was on the floor at the foot of the stairs. _And_ he was unconscious.

There was a shadowy purple bruise forming under his right eye. I moved my hair from my face and tried not to panic. "Lysander," I mumbled as I tried to wake him.

I took a deep breath. I'd always wanted to do this…it just seemed like the wrong time.

I slapped him. _Really_ hard. On his face.

And boy, it felt good.

"OUCH!" Lysander yelled groggily as he returned to consciousness. "Dude, what was that for?"

"I had to wake you up! What the hell happened?" I ordered.

"I…can't remember." Lysander mumbled and looked up at the staircase behind him. "Dude, did I…fall downstairs?"

"I don't think so. If you did, how did you land on your face? You've got a huge bruise around your eye. But still, you are Lysander. I wouldn't put it past you." I helped him up. "You should go to Madam Pomfrey."

"No, I'm fine, it's just my eye that hurts…I really can't remember what happened…"

"Sure?"

"Yeah." Lysander frowned and then shook his head. "Listen, I'll talk to you later, OK?"

I nodded. "Yeah, OK, see you."

_**

* * *

**_

Two days later…

14th February.

Valentine's Day.

Or if you're me – just another normal day…

I breathed in the chilly air as I looked out of one of the arched windows of the Stone Bridge. The sun was nearly setting – its rays a blend of gold, magenta and orange.

"Hey dude!"

I forced a smile. "Hey, Lysander."

"Dude! Lighten up, it's Valentine's Day," Lysander exclaimed.

"I know," I sighed, "and I don't know why you're telling me to lighten up. It's not like I was upset or anything."

Lysander frowned. "Try looking at your face then saying the same thing."

"That is _so_ rude!"

"Well it's true! You look really miserable, Alfo, what's up?" Lysander said.

"Nothing is up!"

"Dude, just –" Lysander began, before a voice behind us made him stop. Lysander turned around to see Selena Finnegan walking along with her best friend, Alex Flint. Well…her name was Alexandra but she literally _hexed_ anyone who called her by her full name.

Selena was quite pretty, with strawberry-blonde hair and pale blue eyes. I knew her because she was a Gryffindor and I had most of my classes with her - Alex, however, was in Slytherin. She had your normal, everyday brunette hair and dull brown eyes.

The two were nattering about something until they reached Lysander and I. "Hey, guys!" Selena said enthusiastically.

Lysander practically drooled at her, staring at her blankly until I saw what he was doing and stamped on his foot _hard_.

He snapped back into reality. "Oh, uh, h-hey, Selena," he grinned stupidly.

I wasn't stupid. I could put two and two together.

Oh, this was just _delicious_.

I could finally get back at Lysander for all the times he'd tormented me about Rose. I smirked and simply watched him stutter his way through the conversation.

"Happy Valentine's Day, you two!" Selena smiled a dazzling smile which made Lysander almost _faint_.

"I, uh, take it you're enjoying it, then?" Lysander blushed.

"Yeah, it's…it's been great!"

Hmm…I wonder what the hesitation in her voice was all about…

"Well, we'll see you two later. Bye, Scorp. Bye, Lysander." She gave a little wave and she and Alex left.

I smirked up at Lysander as he watched her walk away. "Selena Finnegan, huh?"

"What about her?" Lysander, still completely dazed, asked.

"You _know_ what, Lysander," I grinned, "it's not exactly hard to figure out."

"Oh, _no_, Alfo, don't even _go_ there! I don't _like_ Selena Finnegan." Lysander protested, but blushing all the same.

"So…you wouldn't care if I told you who she's going out with?" I asked casually.

Ah, revenge felt _so_ good.

"No! I don't care!" Lysander scoffed. "_Pfft_…who is it?"

"None other than _Shane Creevey_," I fought back laughter as I saw Lysander grimace, "you know? Dennis Creevey's son?"

Lysander shrugged. But he couldn't fool me. I'm too _awesome_ to be fooled.

_**

* * *

**_

Rose…

His stormy grey eyes bored into mine. "Good day?" Scorpius asked.

"No."

"What's wrong? Lighten up, it's Valentine's Day." He smiled.

I laughed. "I think Valentine's Day is completely _notorious_. Why can't you show someone you love them every day?"

"Yeah but it's a…special day. Does that mean you don't celebrate Mother's Day either?" He raised a perfectly arched eyebrow and waited for me to answer.

"That's…that's different." I mumbled.

"How? It's basically the same thing. On Valentine's Day you do something for that special someone to show that you love them. On Mother's Day you do the same thing, only the 'special someone' is your mother."

I thought about what he'd said. "I guess that's true." He smirked. "Wipe that grin off your face, Malfoy. You may have changed my mind about this but it doesn't mean you're always right."

"Course I'm always right, I'm Scorpius Malfoy…duh!"

"You love yourself too much," I said, but not in a mean or malicious way. More like a…fond way.

"What's not to love?"

And then what did I do? Out of everything I could've done…I _blushed_. I could've killed myself. _Curse you, stupid Weasley blush_!

"Vain," I scowled at him.

"If I'm so vain, why are you still here?"

"Am I not _allowed_ to be here or something?" He smiled, flashing his perfectly white teeth. I didn't know whether I wanted to hug him or _kick_ him.

"I was just asking. What are you doing here with me is I'm so vain, Weasley?"

"Guess I'll leave, then. I'm sure Albus wanted to ask me something." I saw Scorpius stiffen with anger as I said Albus's name. I made for the door.

"No," I heard him call, "wait."

_**

* * *

**_

Scorpius…

She stopped in her tracks at the sound of my voice. And for the _second_ time this week, I'd surprised both her and myself by a few stupid words.

"_Yes_, Scorpius?" She asked irritably, her arms folded.

"Where are you going?" I questioned.

"I told you. To the Gryffindor common room. Albus wanted to ask me something." She replied, not even bothering to turn around. Her voice was cold. I flinched.

"You're _leaving_? To go to _Potter_?" I spat. It was physically sickening.

"That's right. Bye." She said cheerfully.

"Oh come on, it's Valentine's Day, you can't leave me alone, _Rosie_," I grinned. She hated it when I called her Rosie. Which was why I did it so much.

She turned around to face me.

"I'll stay," she began, "as long as you call me _Rose_! Not _Rosie_, _Rose_."

I looked her up and down. "Deal. Hey," I started, "what do you know about that girl Selena?"

Rose frowned. "Selena Finnegan?"

"That's the one," I nodded.

"Well…"

_**

* * *

**_

Albus…

They were clueless. Absolutely clueless. They had no idea that I could hear each and every thing they said. I boiled with anger at the sound of Rose – my cousin – having a normal conversation with him. How could she stand to be within a two-metre radius of him? It just didn't make sense.

Rose and I were related… did she not feel the hate I felt for him? The answer was obviously _no_. But how? I didn't understand – the same blood ran through her veins as me. How could she stand him? It made no sense in my eyes.

He was a creep and nothing more. A disgustingly vain and conceited _creep_. I was sure he was using her. I'd just heard it myself. "_What do you know about that girl Selena_?" He'd said.

I thought about the words and a plot began to form in my head.

_**

* * *

**_

Scorpius…

"_Lysander_," I called gleefully.

"You will not believe how much I found out about Selena today," I grinned.

Lysander shrugged. We were in Astronomy – the only class I had with Lysander. "Dude, I don't care."

"Oh, come on! You drool every time you see her, you practically melt when she walks past you."

"Whatever, dude. I am _trying_ to sing, here!" Lysander smiled to himself.

"Ah, what's today's song?"

"Price Tag by Jessie J," Lysander mumbled, and then suddenly broke out into song. "IT'S NOT ABOUT THE MONEY, MONEY, MONEY!" He belted.

"I think you'll find it _is_."

"Just because you have enough Galleons to last three lifetimes, doesn't mean we all do!" Lysander stuck out his tongue childishly. "WE DON'T NEED YOUR MONEY, MONEY, MO-"

"MR SCAMANDER!" Professor Sinistra bellowed, while I tried to hold in my laughter. "You are disrupting other students! Now stop…_singing_ and get on with your work!" Even in the dark I saw Lysander turn crimson.

"Hey, uh," I began, "it's Selena's birthday next week, going to get her anything, Lysander?"

"It is?" Lysander smiled eagerly. "I mean…yeah, sure, whatever."

"Seriously…you going to buy her something special?"

"Yeah, I guess…what have I got to lose?"

"That's more like it," I nodded and Professor Sinistra dismissed the class.

_**

* * *

**_

Rose…

"He's just using you, Rose! Can't you see that?" Albus raved yet again.

"No, I can't, because he's _not_, Albus! We've been friends for ages and you know that!" I said, my voice a little too loud.

"I heard your conversation, Rose! It's obvious. He plainly asked you for information, you know, when you were talking about that girl…what was her name? Selena?" Albus frowned.

I felt a jolt of…_jealousy_?

No. It couldn't be.

"I've heard all sorts about him and Selena, you know," Albus proceeded. "You should stay away. _Well_ away."

I felt my heart plummet at that. And I had no idea why. I sighed. "Albus, you're…you're my _cousin_. _Please_…tell me you're not lying."

"Why would I lie to you? I'm just trying to warn you…he's trouble, Rose."

What a good Valentine's Day this has turned out to be…

_**

* * *

**_

How'd you guys like that? Review if you liked it :)

_**Till the next update, farewell!**_


	22. Ron's Great Cake Disaster

_**Now, let's see how Draco and Ronald get on with their Valentine's Day…this ought to be interesting… ;D**_

**Chapter Twenty Two – The Great Cake Disaster**

_**Draco…**_

So it's Valentine's Day…

Yay.

I am practically _beside_ myself with excitement.

Notice how my voice is dripping with sarcasm?

Don't get me wrong; much as I love my wife, I still think Valentine's Day is completely _pointless_. What's the point in buying flowers or whatever and telling someone you love them on _one_ day? There're three hundred and sixty five days in a year, so why, on the fourteenth of February, do you have to do something special? It just…makes no sense whatsoever. It should be Valentine's _year_.

Anyway, _yes_, I hate Valentine's Day, and _yes_, I think it's totally pointless, but still, I've got something arranged. _Being_ the amazing person I am, of course.

Hmm…I wonder how Ron's getting along…Somehow I couldn't imagine him as a Valentine's Day type. But you never know…

_**

* * *

**_

Ron…

I smelt a faint smell of…_burning_?

Uh-oh.

It took about three seconds for me to get downstairs, into the kitchen and pull the oven door open. Yeah – _three seconds_.

I was suddenly hit by a puff of smoke. I covered my mouth with my hand and waited for it to stop, then grabbed the metal tin inside.

I never realised how hot metal gets when it's been near fire.

"OUCH!" I yelped as the hot metal touched my skin. I grabbed the nearest thing – a ragged old tea towel – and wrapped it around my hand, before having a second attempt at taking out the metal tin.

It didn't work.

Being the complete genius I am, I forgot to turn the oven off before I shoved my hand in there, and all of a sudden, the tea towel suddenly burst into flames.

"ARGH!" I yelled, before promptly tossing it into the sink and turning the tap on. The flames subsided and my heart rate slowed down for a second until I realised the damned oven was still on!

I turned it off and took out the metal tin inside and poked what was inside it. _Don't panic…you can still save it…just don't panic._

So…it was safe to say that my first attempt at a cake had gone completely wrong. It had charcoal-black and frazzled to a crisp.

_Hermione's going to be __**furious**__…_

_NO…don't panic. You can fix this…come on – your Ron Weasley! You can fix this…You just need a little help, that's all._

_**

* * *

**_

Two hours later…

"Please! It's a life and death situation!"

Yes – I was desperate.

Never once in my life, did I think that I'd be asking Draco Malfoy for help baking a cake. Oh, how uncertain life is sometimes.

"I'm sure it _isn't_! Why not ask Potter?" Great. I could practically hear Draco smirking down the phone. Yes, I – Ronald Weasley – was using a telephone! It took me a few attempts and the damn thing tried strangling me at first but I figured it out in the end.

"Well, I have, but he's out with Ginny, so there's no chance!"

I heard him give an almighty sigh. "How long will it take?" He asked irritably.

"I don't know! About…an hour?"

"Well fine, but I hope you know I'm risking my life here!" He exclaimed.

"And just how are you doing that?"

"My wife can get aggressive, you know! You owe me, big time."

"Fine, fine, just get _over_ here!" I shouted and put the phone down.

Now all I have to do is pray that Hermione doesn't come back any time soon…

_**

* * *

**_

Scorpius…

Well.

Today's been…uh…_eventful_.

And it isn't even _midday_ yet.

It all started in Transfiguration, when Professor McGonagall partnered us up.

"Now, Miss Weasley, you'll work with…Mr Malfoy." McGonagall said. For some reason, I had a really bad feeling about it as I watched Rose reluctantly move over to my desk. "Hi," I said.

No reply.

Uh-oh.

"Are you…OK?"

"Yeah. Fine." She muttered, looking down.

Oh no. Had something happened? Had someone been hurt? Or worse, had she – Merlin forbid – _received less than an O on her last essay_?

"Rose…what happened?" I asked warily, bracing myself for the answer. She stayed quiet and I started to get frustrated. "Rose don't do this."

"You aren't one to beat around the bush."

"What did _I_ do?"

"You know what you did." She retorted.

OK. She'd _officially_ lost it.

"No, I don't, so please enlighten me." She remained silent. "Come on, I've known you for like…well, for ever."

"Yes, well I obviously don't know _you_!" She spat maliciously.

I was gobsmacked. _What the hell had I done_? And better yet – who was behind all this?

I had a _pretty_ good idea…

Rose went the entire lesson without breathing a word, which was really, really annoying seeing as we had to _work_ together. I swear I could've strangled McGonagall for pairing us up.

I felt as if I could take no more, when finally, the bell rang and I ran out of the classroom at a record-breaking speed…

**

* * *

**

"OOO-WOOOO-OOOO-OOOOOO! OOO-WOOOO-OOOO-OOOOOO! BARBRA STREISAND." Lysander warbled, bobbing his head from one side to another.

"What the _hell_ are you doing?" I asked, looking at him in pure shock.

"Isn't it obvious?"

"No."

"I'm _singing_!" Lysander exclaimed.

"Really? Because it sounded like you were dying. Or at least, having a mental breakdown."

"And why would I have a mental breakdown?" Lysander narrowed his eyes.

"I don't know, you tell me! So…how're things going with you and Finnegan?" I grinned mischievously.

"Awesome! She totally digs me, dude!"

"WOULD YOU STOP TALKING IN THAT GHASTLY AMERICAN ACCENT?" I didn't mean to shout but it really was cringe worthy. "Thank you. Anyway, how does she…uh, dig you?"

"With a little help from my friend Bruno Mars," Lysander smirked.

"Huh? I thought he was a singer…" I asked, puzzled.

"Scorpius?" Lysander said irritably.

"Yeah?"

"Why are you so stupid?"

"I'm not! Now would you just tell me what happened?" I ordered.

"Alright, alright! Well it happened just a few hours ago…"

_**

* * *

**_

Lysander…

"WE CAN DO IT LIKE A MANDEM, MANDEM!" I exclaimed, happily singing my way through my free period undisturbed. And I would've carried on but someone's voice stopped me in my tracks.

"Can you now?" I heard someone say behind me. And that someone was most definitely a girl. I turned around to see Selena smiling. I nearly had a heart attack.

"Pfft, _yeah_," I really hoped I wasn't blushing. But obviously, I was.

She laughed softly. "Right…"

I'd never once experienced such an awkward silence.

"Hey, I know this might seem like a weird question, but I was just wondering…What do you like to do in your free time? Because I saw Lorcan in the library reading, and I was wondering if you guys do the same things…you know, 'cause your twins?"

"Reading…ew." I grimaced. "I never read…I've read one book in my entire life."

"So what _do_ you like to do?" She enquired.

"Oh, I like to…oh never mind, it's kind of stupid." I mumbled.

"No, go on!" She smiled encouragingly. "I won't laugh, even if it is stupid, and it probably isn't."

"Well…I like to sing."

She gasped. "Really?" I nodded. "Sing something for me."

Oh no! What had I gotten myself into? I should've said I liked to dissect _worms_ or something.

I racked my brains for something, anything to sing. I was on the fence – should I sing Just The Way You Are by Bruno Mars or Twinkle Twinkle Little Star? It sure was a hard choice…but I finally decided.

I clamped my eyes shut and my heart started to thump against my chest. I swallowed and started singing…

"When I see your face, there's not a thing that I would change, 'cause you're amazing, just the way you are."

Well, it wasn't going so bad after all, so I dared open my eyes. I saw Selena rapidly going from salmon, to magenta to full-out _tomato_.

So I decided to carry on…simply to see what colour she'd turn next!

"And when you smile, the whole world stops and stares for a while, 'cause you're amazing, just the way you are."

She beamed. "What song was that?"

"It's called Just The Way You Are, by Bruno Mars." I answered, relieved that it was over.

"You're…it was _good_."

"Well it was either that or Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, so…" I said.

She sighed. "Should've chosen Twinkle Twinkle Little Star…" She muttered, but still grinning. "I'm just kidding. But it'd be interesting to see you singing that."

"Well if you're lucky I might."

_OK, Lysander, it's going well so far. DON'T MESS IT UP!_

I was just about to say something when the bell for my next lesson chimed.

CURSE YOU, STUPID BELL!

_**

* * *

**_

Scorpius…

"So yeah, that's what happened." Lysander finished explaining.

I, for one, was taken aback. "Wow," I swallowed.

"Yeah…" He nodded in agreement. "Hey, don't look at me like that!"

"I'm not."

"What's burst your bubble, huh, Alfo?" Lysander frowned. I contemplated whether telling him everything or just saying "Nothing." and leaving it there.

"For some reason, Rose won't talk to me and I don't know why, then McGonagall paired us up for Transfiguration and she kept saying things like "I don't know you at all." and this complete nonsense. I had no idea where she was coming from and she wouldn't tell me." I suddenly gushed.

"Ah. I see." Lysander scratched his head and tried to make sense of my predicament. Well at least things were going right for some of us…

_**

* * *

**_

Draco…

"Ronald…what the hell died in there?" I asked, as I poked the black…thing that was plonked on the table.

"My dignity," he whined. "Help me! Please? I really want to impress Hermione this year and I thought this'd be a good way!"

I sighed. "Let me see the ingredients," I demanded irritably as he handed over a little piece of paper with his scribblings all over it.

"Ron…please tell me you remembered to put in the flour."

"Flower? Why would I put a flower in a –"

"NOT THAT KIND OF FLOUR! THE FLOUR YOU USE FOR BAKING!" I yelled.

"Oh…no," Ron muttered, "was I supposed to?"

"Uh, _yes_. It's one of the most important ingredients!" We suddenly heard a knocking at the door.

"Oh no! Hermione's here! You…go distract her!" Ron said, and practically shoved me out of the door.

"How?" I hissed.

"I don't care, just do it!"

"Hermione!" I grinned, trying not to look guilty. "You're probably wondering what I'm doing here."

"Just a bit. Care to explain?" She narrowed her eyes.

"Yes, uh, Ron told me to tell you to meet him at the park. Not sure why, I'm just…relaying the message." I said, and suddenly my attention was caught by something else.

While I was distracting Hermione, Ron felt it was a good idea to sneak out of the back door and out of the house. "_Where shall I go_?" He mouthed.

"So yeah, he decided to go to the…PARK!" I yelled, making sure Ron heard the last part. Immediately he scurried off out of sight. I breathed a sigh of relief.

"So why are you here?"

"Me? Oh…he wanted me to get something for him," I nodded. "Well I really should be off now, have a nice day." I said and I hurried away before she could say anything else…

_**

* * *

**_

Rose…

I flopped down into the squashy red armchair in the Gryffindor common room. Ahhh, it felt so good to relax after the long day it'd been.

But I was still wasn't happy, after what Albus had told me. I was so confused. I genuinely didn't know who to believe – my cousin or my oldest friend?

Then someone came and made things a whole lot worse.

Out of every single chair in the damn common room, Selena chose to sit next to me.

"Hi Rose," she said softly.

"Hi, Selena. To what do I owe this…pleasure?"

"Well I need to ask you a few _questions_…"

_**

* * *

**_

How'd you like that?

_**Review! :P**_


	23. Love the Way You Lie

_**Sorry guys, this chapter is Scorpius-Rose related, no Draco or Ron or any of the uh…senior characters if you know what I mean.**_

_**This chapter is for Creamsodafloat, for giving me what has to be THE awesomest (is that even a work :S) review EVER! THANK YOU! =D**_

**Chapter Twenty Three – Love the Way You Lie**

_**Scorpius…**_

I could swear I was about to fall asleep any time soon. I had that feeling – that feeling when you don't know whether you're more angry or depressed. Well…at least we had Astronomy next. Lysander could at least _try_ to cheer me up.

Professor Sinistra was completely boring us to death, making us fill out some kind of chart. "Any questions? No? I suggest you start with your work then." I heard her say, and suddenly zoned back in.

"What are we supposed to do?" I asked Lysander.

"Dude, I have no idea. Hey! Want to see what I learnt in Charms class today?"

"Uh…yeah, sure." I replied groggily, as if I'd just woken up.

Lysander pulled out his wand and cleared his throat. "Incendio!" He yelled.

And everything went up in flames.

Literally.

Well, I'm exaggerating. By 'everything' I meant Lysander's star chart, and by 'flames', I meant…uh, flames.

I stared at him in shock and he looked back, silently panicking. "LYSANDER!" I shouted, implying that he should do something _soon_.

He looked back at me and then at his slowly burning star chart and did something that really wasn't useful.

"_Just gonna stand there and watch me burn_!" He wailed.

"LYSANDER THAT IS NOT HELPING THIS SITUATION!" I yelled as he carried on singing.

"_But that's alright BECAUSE I LOVE THE WAY YOU LIE –"_

"Aguamenti!" Professor Sinistra suddenly shouted, and with a wave of her wand a jet of clear water shot out of the end, putting an end to the flames. Everyone was wearing different expressions. Lysander looked amused, Professor Sinistra looked like a lioness on a rampage and pretty much everybody else looked as shocked as I felt.

"Mr Scamander…" Professor started calmly. "That'll be a _month _of detention. Now, if you would please be _so _kind as to not try and set the whole _Astronomy Tower_ on fire, I'd appreciate it."

"Yes, Professor." Lysander mumbled, desperately trying to hold in his laughter, even though he'd just received a month's worth of detention.

"Mr Malfoy, care to explain why you're smirking?"

"It's part of the 'Malfoy code', you see, Professor!" Lysander exclaimed.

"MR SCAMANDER!" She bellowed. "I thought I told you to be quiet!"

"You didn't say that –"

"SILENCE!" She screeched, causing Lysander to jump out of his skin and me to nearly die with laughter.

Ah, I knew he wouldn't fail to cheer me up!

_**

* * *

**_

One Day Later

It was totally déjà vu.

We were in Transfiguration, still working in the same pairs, and Rose was acting…_weird_ again. But it wasn't really the silent-treatment weird, more like the _opposite_. It was as if she was trying to make up for when she hadn't talked to me by speaking at about a hundred miles an hour.

"Hi Scorp!" She said a little too over-enthusiastically.

I nearly stumbled at the speed and volume of her sudden outburst.

I cleared my throat and redeemed myself. "Uh…_hi_."

"How are you?" She beamed.

"Good, thanks…you?" I narrowed my eyes.

"Brilliant!"

"That's…that's great." I couldn't help smirking. "Looks like you had trouble ignoring me."

Rose blushed. "I…I wasn't ignoring you."

"Really? I seem to recall you accusing me of something I didn't even know I did and stating that '_you didn't know me at all_'." _Yeah _I used air-quotes – that's how badass I am.

"I was…having a bad day. Just forget about it."

"_No_." I said quite loudly and firmly. "What was that even supposed to mean?"

"Nothing, I already told you! Please, Scorpius, just forget it." She went red again and tried to stop myself from smiling.

"What are you smirking at?"

"I made you blush." I laughed.

"_Wow_! You must be _so_ proud of your accomplishment." She rolled her eyes in a totally _Rose_ way. But she was still blushing. Mwahahahahaha!

That was an evil laugh if you were wondering what I'm on about. It's sort of hard to write something that sounds evil. Try it if you don't believe me.

There I am again, getting sidetracked. But seriously, get used to it. I do that a lot. Get sidetracked I mean – not try and write down things that sound evil.

So anyway, things slowly went back to normal…until we met up with Lysander and Lorcan. Lorcan looked extremely worried, while Lysander was grinning with Glee.

"Hola!" Lysander exclaimed.

"It…it was an accident! We were kind of having an arugment, and I tried hitting him with a Babbling Curse, but it went wrong…"

"And now…?" I asked warily.

"And now he can only speak Spanish," Lorcan mumbled.

"Compruebe hacia fuera! Estoy aún más impresionante cuando hablo español, mi amigo!" Lysander warbled.

"He said: "Check it out! I'm even more awesome when I'm speaking Spanish, dude." Lorcan frowned.

"How do you know?"

"It's a twin thing. Rose, what do we _do_?" Lorcan demanded.

"I…I don't know!" Rose shrugged. "It should wear off in a few hours. Has anything else changed about him?"

"Well…he's stopped singing." Lorcan mumbled.

"Relájese! no es tan malo, así que le deje de preocuparse, por favor?" Lysander said to me. Too bad I didnt have a clue what he was waffling on about.

"He said: "Relax…something something something…please." The something-something part were the bits I didn't understand, if you didn't get it." Lorcan translated.

"Chacun d'entre vous, calmez-vous!" Lysander said in what sounded like a demanding voice. But then again, what did I know? He could have been saying "Spinach grows in my belly button!" for all _I_ knew!

"Wait…I thought he could only speak Spanish! That was French!" Rose exclaimed.

"Oh my _lord_! What next? _German_?" Lorcan said, horrified by what he was hearing, while Lysander looked oddly happy.

""Chacun d'entre vous, calmez-vous!" Lysander said in what sounded like a demanding voice. But then again, what did I know? He could have been saying "Spinach grows in my belly button!" for all _I_ knew!

The bell suddenly rang, but my shoulders sank in relief as all the first-years had a free period this morning. "OK, listen, Rose and Lorcan, you find a way to reverse the spell. Lysander and I'll go find Professor Flitwick, maybe he can do something. Come on, Lysander!" I grabbed hold of him and marched towards Flitwick's office.

"Selena, wait up!" I heard someone say. I suddenly spotted Selena's blonde hair amongst the crowd in the corridor and an idea suddenly formed in my head. I nudged Lysander and nodded towards her. "Go talk to her!" I hissed, even though he probably couldn't understand what the hell I was saying and literally pushed him into her and then left…

_**

* * *

**_

Selena…

I was walking through the crowd when suddenly Lysander bumped into me out of nowhere. "Oh, hey Lysander."

"Bonjour," he replied.

"Uh…Lysander, what's up with the French?" I narrowed my eyes.

He shrugged, genuinely looking confused.

"So you can understand what I'm saying?"

He nodded.

"That is so cool! Say something in French."

I wondered what he'd say and if I'd understand a word of it. He looked quite relaxed, unlike the last time I'd asked him to do something.

He studied me for a moment, looking right into my eyes. "Ma chérie, vous avez de beaux yeux."

"What does that mean?" I asked, smiling.

Lysander suddenly gasped and cleared his throat. "Sorry, can't tell you that."

"Come on…wait! You're…you're speaking English again!" I exclaimed.

"Yes. Yes I am! The spell must've worn off. Lorcan tried a Babbling Curse and it _really_ didn't go well."

"I could tell…you going to tell me what you said or not?"

He smirked and looked at me again, before shaking his head and sticking out his tongue childishly.

"Lysander, we found a spell to get you speaking English again!" I heard Scorpius say from behind me. I couldn't help noticing that at some point during out conversation, the corridor had become totally deserted.

"It's OK," I smiled, "he's already back to normal."

"So I just spent twenty _unnecessary_ minutes in the _library_…for _nothing_?"

"Yeah, pretty much." Lysander nodded.

"I _really_ want to hit you right now, so don't push it." Scorpius warned.

"GASP!" Lysander…uh, _gasped_, receiving a deathly glare from Scorpius. "What? There was a serious lack of dramatic effect, dude."

"OK, well I'll see you later." Scorpius said irritably. Lysander turned to look at me and gave me an apologetic smile.

"See you." He replied to Scorpius.

"Well _he_ seems annoyed." I stated fairly obviously.

"Well yeah, he did just spend unnecessary time in a library, I can see where he's coming from." Lysander nodded. "I mean, I hate going to the – "

"I like going to the library." I cut in. "It helps me think clearly."

"GASP!" Lysander exclaimed. "Me too! What a weird coincidence!"

"_Very_ weird," I said, subtle enough for him to think I was actually being serious. I smiled. Bless.

It was silent for about five seconds and the bell suddenly rang. A whole hour had gone by already? I had no idea…it'd gone so fast. What had I been doing all this time?

I'd been talking to Lysander all this time? _Wow_.

_**

* * *

**_

A few hours later…

_**Scorpius…**_

I wanted to be alone.

No, I _needed_ to be alone. To think things through. But Rose wouldn't let me be alone.

"Scorp…why have you suddenly gone all…well, like this?" She demanded.

"I asked you the same question in Transfiguration the other day! You put through hell you know, Rose!" I couldn't stop shouting. "I was sat there racking my brain trying to think about what the hell I did but you didn't tell me anything! You just sat there all quiet and let me silently go demented!"

"If I tell you what's going on will you stop shouting?" She muttered, looking quite scared.

"Go ahead! Please! Because I've been wondering that for about two days now!"

"The other day, Albus told me that…you were just using me, because you asked me about that Selena girl or something," Rose frowned.

"What? And you believed him?"

Rose blushed. "Yes! He's my cousin!"

"He's your maniac cousin! I'm not going after Finnegan! _Lysander_ is!"

"Lysander? So why were _you_ asking about her?" Rose shook her head in disbelief.

I swallowed, trying to take this all in. "Because I wanted my _friend_ to be _happy_!" I exclaimed. Anger ran through my veins and I curled my hand into a fist in an attempt to channel my anger. It didn't work.

"I can't _believe_ this." Rose shook her head again and I stormed out and down the corridor to find Albus. "Scorpius wait!" She ran out at a record breaking speed.

"WHAT FOR?"

"Just…just calm down, OK?" She grabbed my arm to try and stop me walking off but I shook her hand away. I was stood against the wall and she was stood in front of me, trying to stop me from shouting, but she couldn't.

"NO I WILL NOT CALM DOWN!" I really didn't want to shout at her but the anger was taking over me. He'd just gone too far now. "I MADE A PROMISE AND I KEPT IT! I SAID I'D STAY AWAY FROM HIM, AND HE DID THE SAME, AND NOW LOOK WHAT HE'S DOING! HE'S RUINING EVERYTHING!"

Rose looked taken aback. I instantly felt guilty for shouting at her even though she hadn't done anything.

"It's not like he hasn't done it before."

"I know," I hissed, "but this…he's just gone too far and I can't deal with it the way you can! I hate the way you just take everything in and you're always so calm and so…and so…"

"So what?"

"SO PERFECT!" I exploded.

"W-what?" She stuttered.

"IT'S TRUE! YOU'RE SMART AND PRETTY AND EVERYONE LIKES YOU, YOU DON'T HAVE SOME GUY WHO'LL STOP AT NOTHING TO RUIN YOUR LIFE INTERFERING ALL THE TIME!"

She was totally silent. I could feel tears pricking in my eyes. _OH NO! Don't you dare cry! You can't cry! Not now. Not in front of her._

"You…you mean that?"

"I'm not in the mood to be telling lies, unlike your mental cousin." I'd finally stopped shouting. I suddenly felt drained of energy and wanted to go to sleep.

"Scorpius, please just –"

"I'm sorry." I said in a kind of tone that a five year old uses when they admit they ate the last cookie. She ought to feel honoured. Malfoys don't apologize to many people. "I'm sorry I shouted at you. I didn't mean to. Honestly." I mumbled, my speech slightly slurred from my sudden, overpowering tiredness. I felt like going into hibernation or something, but I still managed a smile for her.

"It's…it's OK." She smiled back.

"You're mercy is quite annoying at times you know, Weasley." I smirked.

"Liar."

"You love it really. See you tomorrow."

_**

* * *

**_

So how was that? I just love writing a good Angry Scorp scene…it's quite fun. Sorry if it wasn't that good, I am one TIRED PotterHead. Hope you enjoyed it though, thanks for all the reviews, keep going.

_**By the way, if any of you were wondering, "Ma chérie, **__**vous avez de beaux yeux,**__**" means "You have beautiful eyes," or something like that...What? I don't speak French, how am I supposed to know? :P …Anyway, REVIEW! =D**_


	24. Fire and Ice

_**So this chapter might be a little depressing, but I'm sure Lysander'll fix that all up in a jiff ;)**_

_**So yeah, enjoy! Hope you like this, and review! Oh and an extra-extra-extra-extra- extra-extra-extra-extra-extra special THANK YOU to Creamsodafloat, for your totally awesome reviews.**_

**Chapter Twenty Four – Fire and Ice**

_**Three Years Later – Fourth Year**_

_**Scorpius…**_

"The Yule Ball is a traditional part of the Triwizard Tournament. It is first and foremost a dance." McGonagall stated.

Imagine a circus. Inside the circus there's a tightrope. On the tightrope there's a…uh, circus-person thing. So they're walking on the tightrope…and suddenly they wobble and everyone's thinking "OH MY GOD THEY'RE GOING TO FALL AND SPLATTER INTO A THOUSAND PIECES!" but they regain their balance. They start walking again and then suddenly, out of nowhere, they start doing flips and somersaults and who-knows-what on this one-centimetre-wide tightrope.

And when McGonagall said that, I felt as if there were a thousand little miniature versions of those circus-people cartwheeling around in my stomach. I admit – I was scared. I mean, a _dance_? Who would I go with? Who did I _want_ to go with?

Ugh…yet another bombshell had been dropped on me.

I was only in my fourth year and I'd come face to face with countless occasions like this already. Oh, how I hated this feeling of _dread_.

But about the Yule Ball. I remember the story Father once told me about when Hogwarts hosted the Triwizard Tournament and everything that happened. It got me thinking – did Mother and Father go to the Yule Ball together? If they didn't, who did they go with? Hmm…I decided I'd owl them tonight and find out.

But not right now. I had other things to take care of. And by 'other things to take care of' I meant either 'finding a way to get out of going to this Yule Ball' or 'asking the one person I truly want to go to the Yule Ball with to come with me.'

I looked over at Rose from the Slytherin table at breakfast. There was a huge grin plastered on her face as she chatted happily with the other Gryffindors. Why did she look so…_beautiful_ today? I guessed it was the sparkle in her perfect blue eyes.

That got me wondering…I wish I could tell her everything I was thinking right now. But I was scared – of rejection. What if she didn't feel the same way? What if she only thought of me as a friend and I just went up to her and said "Hey, I like you. I really like you. I'm about to ask you to come to the Yule Ball with me even though your cousin hates me with a passion. So, you up for it?" Yeah – _that'd_ work!

Oh, and about Albus. There's still a huge feud between us. It's literally at it's peak. I mean, we'd never exactly been best friends or anything, but this little rift between us was stronger than it had ever been.

"This…is going to be a _disaster_," Lysander stated as we poured out of the classroom.

"Yes. Yes it is," I nodded in agreement.

"So we need a plan. OK, I say we create a diversion in the Great Hall by – "

"No, Lysander, I don't think we'll be able to get out of this one. Sorry, pal," I replied.

We both sighed in unison. "You know what? I'm…I'm just going to ask her. I can't let fear take over me. D'you think she'll say yes?" I asked Lysander nervously.

"Yeah dude, go for it!" Lysander replied encouragingly.

"Hey guys," I heard someone say from beside me. Selena was smiling at both of us.

"Hey, you OK?" I asked. As the three short years had gone by, we'd become really close friends. The only problem, though, was that Lysander still had 'feelings' for her. On the bright side, me and her were just friends. Yeah, we were really close and everything, but there was nothing else between us, even if people did think there was. She was more like a sister to me, actually.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she replied, "_So_…who are you guys planning on asking to the Yule Ball?" I practically heard Lysander hyperventilating next to me.

"Not sure yet," I answered and nudged Lysander discretely. '_Go on_!' I mouthed.

'_I can't_!' He mouthed back.

I raised my eyebrows expectantly. Lysander took a deep breath and I made a silent oath to myself. If Lysander asks her to the Yule Ball, I'll ask Rose. Although the mere thought made me cringe, I'd do it.

"Selena, will you – "

BRRIIIIINNNNGGGG!

ARGH! Darn that stupid bell! Ringing at the most inconvenient moments.

"What were you saying Lysander?" She enquired, raising her voice so that we could hear her over the buzz of the students in the corridor.

Lysander looked like he wanted to cry. Honestly, I'm not exaggerating. I think he really was holding back tears. "Nothing. Never mind."

And then he walked away. Selena looked confused and quite upset – after all, us three were like…best friends. "What's up with him?"

"He's not really feeling well, you know?" I shrugged. "Bit of a bug going around I think."

"Oh, right…" She muttered.

"Uh…I should go see if he's alright, but I'll talk to you later, OK?" I smiled and gave her a quick hug.

"Do you want me to come with you?"

"No, it's OK. See you later."

* * *

"Lysander, what was all that about?" I demanded as I caught up to him on his way out of the Great Hall.

"I don't want to talk about it," he mumbled, "please just drop it."

"No I will not drop it," I said firmly, "would you please _slow down_?"

"No! I want to be as far away from her as possible!" He exclaimed.

"What? Why? That makes no sense!"

"Doesn't it? I mean, she thinks of us as her best friends, and I have to see her every day knowing that that's all we'll be – _friends_. Do you _get_ it now?"

Wow. He'd just said _everything_ I'd been thinking. I couldn't believe there was someone who actually felt the same way as me. And here he was – stood right in front of me.

I could actually see tears forming in his eyes. I'd known him for four years and never had I seen him like this.

"What do you mean 'do I get it'? Of course I get it!" I snapped.

"Then you understand why I don't want to talk about it!" We were nearing the Ravenclaw common room. "I'll see you later," he muttered venomously and barged through the door.

The next time I saw Lysander, Rose or Selena was the next day. Lysander looked darker than ever – there were huge shadowy circles under his eyes, which were red and puffy. His skin was pale but had lost its radiance. Rose looked a little down, but Selena looked like her usual self, which I was happy about. It was lunch time and me and her had eaten quickly, and were now wandering around the corridors of Hogwarts.

"Any preferred person to go to the Yule Ball with?" I asked.

"One. But it's never going to happen." She replied. "He just thinks of me as a friend."

I wondered if that person she was talking about was in fact Lysander. It _could_ be…

"Who is it?"

"That's for me to know and for you to find out, Scorp," she grinned mischievously.

"Come on, we tell each other like…everything. Why stop now?" It was true – she and Lysander were the only ones who knew about the whole Rose situation.

"I don't know…whatever. When are you planning on asking Rose to go with you?"

"I don't think I am going to," I shrugged. "It's not like she'll say yes. Albus is in the way as usual…it just wouldn't work." She slapped me hard then. "What?"

"You're going to let that _slimeball_ get in the way of you and Rose?" She said incredulously.

"There is no 'me and Rose'."

"Yes there is!" She exclaimed. "I've seen the way you look at her and I see the way she looks at you. It's so _obvious_!" She said dramatically. "Right, next time you see her you are _going_ to ask her to the Yule Ball, got it?"

God she was scary at times. "Got it?" She repeated.

"Yes! OK! Fine!"

"That's more like it." She nodded. "Now go find her, ask her to the Yule Ball and I guarantee she'll say yes!"

I opened my mouth to protest but she glared at me.

"Fine," I muttered and walked back in the direction of the Great Hall, knowing I was about to meet my downfall…

I bumped into Rose on the way out. My legs went all jellified and started shaking so bad I could barely stand up. _What the hell are you doing, Scorpius? Straighten up and calm yourself down! No girl has ever done this to you before, ever! And now the one you can't have is making you shake like and stutter and go all demented…_

"Hi, Scorpius," she smiled. My heart raced at the sound of her saying my name. It was like a _drug_ or something.

"Rose…" I began, "I need to ask you something."

She looked worried. "W-What is it?" She stuttered.

"Don't worry, it's…it's nothing _bad_."

She nodded, sending her curly red hair bouncing in all directions. Her blue eyes looked at me expectantly. I took hold of her hands and she blushed. I sighed and wondered how to begin.

"Look, I'm really not good with the whole Admitting-Feelings thing, but I really like you…will you go to the Yule Ball with me?" I cringed inwardly. _Please say yes, please say yes, please say…_

"Yes…" She muttered, so quiet I could barely hear it.

"What?"

"Yes!" She squeaked and then she…she…she _hugged_ me.

And I hugged her back.

I'd set off for the Great Hall all depressed…and now it was safe to say that I felt the exact opposite. Time seemed to freeze around us. I felt like my heart was about to jump right out of me. Either that, or explode, judging from the alarming rate it was beating at. This felt both right and wrong. I didn't know why, though… Right because, well, this _was_ the girl I'd liked for three years and wrong because, well, I didn't exactly _know_ why. I breathed a sigh of relief and took in her vanilla-y scent. "I'm so glad you said yes," I muttered.

"I'm glad you _asked_," she pulled away and looked ecstatic, like how I felt. I didn't want it to end so soon. I felt like there was a piece missing when she let go. It hurt when she wasn't there – basically I needed her to survive. Crazy as it sounds – it's true.

"Really?"

She nodded, smiling her perfect smile. In the few minutes I'd been with her, everything had so flawlessly fallen into place…

_**Lysander…**_

I could do this. I could do it. Stop hyperventilating and you might get somewhere. Just relax. You can you this…

"Selena…will you go to the Yule Ball with me?" I said and bit my lip waiting for the reply.

"With _you_? HAHAHA! Don't make me laugh, Lysander!"

And then her friends laughed at me…and her friends friends laughed at me…and then the whole world exploded.

OK, so that didn't happen. But I did ask her. She was totally silent.

_WOULD YOU JUST ANSWER? THE SUSPENSE IS KILLING ME!_

"Lysander, I…I don't know what to say! I thought you thought we were just friends."

"GASP! _I_ thought _you_ thought that! Wait…is that a yes or a no?"

"A _yes_, of course!"

And that was all I heard before I blacked out…

* * *

"Lysander? Lysander?" I heard someone calling from above me. I opened my eyes to see Scorpius and Rose leaning over me.

"Did I…_faint_?"

"Yes! Right after Selena said she'd go with you to the Yule Ball!" Rose said excitedly.

"What? She said yes?" I repeated, my eyes wide. "I thought that was just a dream!"

I couldn't believe this. This feeling inside me was so different, so much better than anything I'd ever felt before. It was as if thousands of fireworks were exploding inside me.

"No, it was _real_," Rose said gently.

"I TOLD YOU!" Scorpius exclaimed suddenly.

"Dude, I should've believed you, I'm sorry." I shrugged. "How long was I out for?"

"Three _days_! The Yule Ball is _tomorrow_," Scorpius replied. I saw him glance at Rose and smile quickly.

"Hey…what's going on here? Are you two going _together_ or something?" This was just _too_ good to be true.

Rose blushed and Scorpius grinned. "Yeah," he muttered.

"DUDE! WHAT HAPPENED? I NEED DETAILS!"

Rose and Scorpius laughed. Everything was going _just_ swimmingly.

_**

* * *

**_

A Week Later – The Yule Ball

_**Scorpius…**_

Rose looked…_wow_. There was no other way to describe it but…_wow_.

She was wearing a turquoise dress that should've clashed with her red hair, but didn't. Her hair cloaked her face like and cascaded around her shoulders. Around her neck was a gold chain with a little rose pendant on it. I let out a sharp breath at the sight of her. Why was it that she was the only one who could get me to behave like this?

The evening started off well. No – it started off _perfectly_. It all just went downhill from there.

Lysander was having the time of his life with Selena. About halfway through the night he went to and get drinks for the two of them or something, and Rose was talking to one of her friends on the other side of the Great Hall, so I decided to go talk to Selena for a while, seeing as I hadn't seen her all day.

"Having fun, are we?" I smirked.

"I've had the best night ever!" She said excitedly. I grinned. Suddenly a fast paced song started blasting from the speakers and I felt a sudden wave of energy. I grabbed Selena's hand. "Come on! I haven't seen you all day!"

Big mistake.

We danced together but it wasn't like it meant anything. It was simply two friends having a good time together. But still…some people didn't _see_ it like that.

About half an hour later, I was dancing with Rose again. I'd been smiling the whole night, I was sure nothing could ruin it.

I was wrong.

I spotted Selena storming out of the Great Hall. Rose didn't see her, though. I wondered what had happened. "Rose, listen, I'll be back in two minutes, all right? I, uh, need a drink," I mumbled, and just to make sure I wasn't actually lying to her I did go get a drink…and then I slipped out of the Great Hall only to hear someone crying. Selena was leaning against the wall crying her eyes out. I put an arm around her in an attempt to try and comfort her.

"Selena what happened?"

She wiped her eyes. "Lysander…me and him, we…we had an argument. After he saw…after he saw us two dancing together, he…he took it the wrong way and…Scorpius, everything's gone so _wrong_!" She said through her tears, leaning her head on my shoulder.

"It's OK," I whispered, "everything's going to be fine, I promise…"

"How can you promise that?"

"I can't…but I just know everything'll be fine."

Yeah, so it sounds pretty weird, but we're really close. I'd do anything for her. She was like my sister.

She carried on crying even so. "It's alright, don't worry…"

_**Albus…**_

Oh, this was just _too_ good! Scorpius and Selena…having a little moment together. Rose had to see this. Finally, _finally_ she'd realise how nasty and sleazy he really is. I ran back into the Great Hall and found her.

"Rose!" I called.

"Yeah?" I heard her reply.

"C'mere! You've got to see this," I dragged her out of the Great Hall and she saw. She saw _everything_.

_**Rose…**_

I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I didn't _want_ to believe it.

_No_, I told myself, they're just friends, _Rose, they're just friends_…

"Rose," Scorpius said when he spotted me. "This isn't what it looks like, OK?"

"What is it then?" Albus ordered.

"Al, I don't want to cause a fight. Can I just talk to Rose alone please?"

"No, you can't. Anything you want to say to her you can say in front of me."

"Albus, just leave it. It doesn't matter," I mumbled.

"Fine. At least you've seen what he's really like," Albus muttered, and stomped back into the Great Hall, while Selena disappeared down an empty hallway.

"Rose, she was upset. I'd never go for her; she's…she's like a sister to me, nothing more," Scorpius explained, "please believe me."

"I believe you, it's just…"

There was an awkward silence as I tried to put it into words.

Scorpius shook his head. "You know what? Just…forget it. We're different. I should've known this wasn't going to work out."

"Why? Why isn't it going to work?"

"I don't know! Maybe because of your maniac cousin! Maybe it's me, I don't know! All I know is that…this was a mistake."

It was true, what he'd said. We were different.

He was dark, I was light.

I was like fire. He was like ice.

"You're right." I glared. "We _are_ different."

"Maybe _too_ different."

His last three words penetrated me and rang in my head over and over again. I thought everything'd work out perfectly. A fairy tale ending. I guess I was wrong…

_**

* * *

**_

So yeah, pretty depressing…but I can guarantee you humour in the next Chapter, when Ron finds out what happened. Hehehehe :) Review, guys!


	25. Gold Forever

_**Thanks for all the reviews, guys; really appreciate 'em! You guys are awesome!**_

_**BTW, there's quite a lot of fluff and stuff in this chapter…y'know, everyone makes up in the end and everything…Awwwwww :') **_

**Chapter Twenty Five – Gold Forever**

_**Hermione…**_

I heard Ron tearing up the envelope the owl had just dropped in his lap in the living room. Everything was silent except for the quiet clanging as I stirred soup in the metal pot on the stove with a wooden spoon, when suddenly…

"HERMIONE!" He exploded.

"Yes Ronald?" I replied, bracing myself for what he was about to say. He stormed into the kitchen.

"Would you please find me," Ron began as he rummaged through the cupboards and drawers in the kitchen, "the sharpest knife you own, a shotgun and a chainsaw and then meet me at Hogwarts in about…say, an hour?"

"What for?" I rolled my eyes.

"I need to kill someone." Ron said rather briefly. And I don't think he was exaggerating either – Ron looked murderous. And that only happened on a few occasions, like when someone ate the last sausage, or if someone bullied Hugo, or whenever a boy even _looked_ at Rose.

"Who is it this time? You know, just last week you nearly killed me for eating the last slice of your birthday cake so it can't be that bad."

"Oh, it's bad. And before you say anything, this is _nothing_ like the time I thought the guy in that shop was hitting on Rose when in _actual_ fact he thought she was a _shoplifter_. That was an _easy_ mistake to make."

"Ron, for goodness sake, will you just tell me what happened?"

"I _knew_ that Malfoy kid was trouble," Ron muttered, still rummaging through the drawers in the kitchen.

"Oh no…what happened Ron?"

"Let's just say," Ron said, slamming a cupboard door shut, "he won't live to tell the tale. Now, onward!"

"Where are you _going_?" I called, but he was already out of the door.

"To Draco's house of course!"

"Oh no you're not!" And I shut the door before he could get out. "Look, whatever's happened with Scorpius has nothing to do with Draco so I'd leave him out of it if I were you."

"I'm sorry, are you…are you taking _his_ side?" Ron said in disbelief.

"There _are_ no sides! _I'm_ just being sensible!" I exclaimed. "What happened anyway?"

"Well I don't know why she didn't tell us but Rose decided to go to the Yule Ball with Scorpius." Ron began explaining.

I suddenly felt a pang of guilt. I _had_ in fact known about Rose going to the Yule Ball with him. I'd found out a few days ago when Rose had sent me a letter telling me everything…but she also told me not to tell Ron in case he had an aneurysm or something. Ronald must've spotted my culpable expression.

"You knew they were going together didn't you?"

"Well…yes, OK, I did, but I didn't tell you because I thought you'd end up breaking something."

"Oh, I'm going to break something all right – that boy's arm!" He shouted.

"Calm down! OK, so they went to the Yule Ball together, then what happened?"

"Albus spotted that…boy messing around with some _other_ girl," Ron spat out through gritted teeth, "Seamus's girl, I think."

"I'm sure Albus simply took it the wrong way. From what I've heard from both Seamus and Draco that Selena and Scorpius are best friends. They practically have a brother-sister relationship! It's like me and Harry," I nodded.

"Oh no, no, no, don't try and change my mind by using examples and stuff," Ron glared down at the letter in his hands, "because it most _definitely_ won't work."

"Come on Ron, you're over-reacting." Ron raised his eyebrows at me. "Well you _are_!"

"Do you not care about our daughter at all?"

"Of course I do! I just think you're blaming people unnecessarily to vent out your anger."

"I guess you're right, 'Mione," Ron mumbled, "Sorry, you know I can't stand it when it comes to our kids."

"I know. You're _way_ too overprotective."

"Weasley nature," Ron grinned and I rolled my eyes.

Same old Ronald…

_**

* * *

**_

Scorpius…

I returned to the dormitory holding back tears. _Don't you dare cry, _I kept telling myself, _you're a Malfoy! Malfoys _don't_ cry!_

I got about two hours of sleep that night. The events of the evening played back in my head all night like a movie screen right in front of me. Even when my eyes were shut I could hear the sound of her voice and see her face.

It was extremely depressing, I'll give you that.

Getting out of bed was hell. Another day of lessons and _feelings_ and stuff. Ew.

I saw Rose entering the dungeons for Potions and seized my chance. "Hey, Rose, come here a minute," I said and took her hand.

"What do you want?"

"I'm…I'm _so_ sorry. About everything. I didn't mean anything I said last night and I really hope you forgive me because…because I really like you and I know I'm rambling and you probably don't care but I just wanted you to know that…that the whole thing with Selena last night meant nothing! She was upset because of Lysander and I was just comforting her. She's like a sister to me. Anyway, if you don't ever want to look at me or talk to me again I'll understand."

Rose gave a little smile. "And _I_ thought Malfoys didn't apologize."

"Oh we apologize…you just have to be special," I smirked. "So have you forgiven me or not?"

"I'll have to think about it." She rolled her eyes.

"Rosie!"

Her eyebrows shot up. "What did I tell you about calling me Rosie?"

"I like it. It's cute. Suits you."

"Yeah well, only a _few_ people can get away with calling me that. One of them being my dad. The other is James."

"And not me? I am _offended_!"

She glared at me. "_Fine_! And yes, I have forgiven you."

She smiled and then disappeared into the Potions classroom.

Now that everything was OK with me, I had one other mission to complete – I had to get Lysander and Selena back together. And I had a feeling it was going to be tough…

* * *

"Lysander – "

"Don't talk to me!" He snapped.

"Would you stop being so childish and let me explain?"

"What _is_ there to explain?"

"A lot!" I shouted. "When Selena and I were dancing, it…it meant absolutely nothing! We were just having fun. And _you_ took it the wrong way, and she started crying so I, being the great friend I am, tried comforting her. That is it, OK?"

Lysander looked down for a moment. "Alright, alright. I guess I was just so overwhelmed that she actually said yes that everything just went over my head and, well I don't know, I was just being a complete idiot. Sorry dude," Lysander shook his head.

"It isn't me you should be apologizing to." I muttered.

"You're right. I'll catch you later, OK, Scorp?"

"Alright. Hey, if you're looking for Selena…I saw her go into the library a few minutes ago."

"Thanks, Alfo, I owe you one!"

"Lysander you owe me so many I've lost count. Anyway, it's all right. Now go, get out of here." I grinned and pushed him down the corridor in the direction of the library.

_**

* * *

**_

A few hours later…

"Well it looks like you two have worked it out!" Rose grinned as we spotted Lysander and Selena sat next to each other. And he had his arm around her. So it was most definitely safe to say that things had been worked out.

"Yeah, yeah, everything's worked out now." Lysander blushed. "Looks like we can say the same for you two." He smirked.

Yeah, so we were walking together…and holding hands…but they had no reason to jump to conclusions.

"You're jumping to conclusions, but yeah, we did," I shrugged.

"Oh I think it _is_ conclusion-jumping-to time!" Lysander laughed as Rose and I sat down opposite them. "You don't have to be Sherlock Holmes to figure it out. Anyway how did you get her to forgive you? I mean yesterday the _hatred_ and _loathing_ and _revulsion_ between you was pretty intense. Not to mention the _anger_ or _deceit_ or the _fury_ –"

"Lysander I _think_ they get it. So what happened?"

"It wasn't hard. I grovelled a little, called her Rosie – which I know she just loves – and she forgave me instantly. I think it was the calling her Rosie part that made her changer her mind," I laughed.

"Are you stupid? I hate that name!" She grimaced.

"Sorry, _Rosie_!" I said and watched her wince at the name. Oh, how I was enjoying this.

_**Selena…**_

So everything had worked out. I was so happy words couldn't even describe it.

"Hey…you never told me what you said in our first year when all you could speak was French. I _demand_ to know!" I said as Lysander and I took a walk by the lake.

"You really want to know?"

"Yes. Really!"

"Really? Are you _sure_?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

"Positive?"

"Yes!"

"Well, OK, but if it's something horrible remember you asked for it," He smiled.

"Go on…" I said warily, narrowing my eyes.

"I said…" Lysander began, "that you have _really_ beautiful eyes."

Well I didn't see that one coming.

"Really?"

"Yeah. And I still think it. You know, I may look stupid or whatever, but I have a soft side too."

We sat in silence for a while after that, but I felt like something was missing. "Something isn't right here…"

"What is it?"

"I can't really put my finger on it…" I racked my brain for an answer. "Ah! I know what it is. You've stopped singing. _That's_ it." I said, knowing it'd make him happy.

"Do you _want_ to be deafened?"

"Don't be silly, you're good."

"Dude, you're just _saying_ that," Lysander shook his head.

"I am not. You know I am loved for my honesty. If I thought you sounded like a mandrake I'd tell you. And you don't, trust me; you're not _quite_ that bad."

"Gee, _thanks_, Selena," Lysander said, smiling. "What song?"

"Any…you choose," I shrugged, interested to see what he'd come out with. Hopefully it wouldn't be God Rest Ye Merry Hippogriffs or something…

He took a deep breath, like he always did before he started singing. "_We're standing in a light that won't fade, tomorrow's coming but this won't change, 'cause some days stay gold forever._" His voice was a sweet tone that was as smooth as butterbur. He paused. "How was that?"

"Carry on," I said in reply.

"_The memory of being here with you, is one I'm gonna take my life through, 'cause some days stay gold forever_."

I smiled shyly. "That was good. So is that your song of the day or something?"

"Yes, yes it is. I take it you liked it then?" He grinned.

"Uh, _yes_. You're going to have to let me listen to that song now."

"Will do," he smiled and put his arm round me. "Dude…why didn't this happen like…ages ago?"

"_No_ idea."

_**

* * *

**_

Draco…

I was watching Phineas and Ferb when it happened…

OK so that doesn't really sound mysterious or anything, so I'll just rephrase that.

I was sat in the living room watching TV when it happened.

No…_wait_.

I was sat alone in the living room when it happened…

Yeah, _that's_ better. Anyway, back to the subject.

"Draco!" I heard Astoria call before promptly storming into the living room. Well this wasn't going to be good… "We need to talk."

My heart started to beat really fast…_Oh no_…she'd found out I'd eaten the last Liquorice Wand! "I can explain!"

"What are you _talking_ about, Draco?"

"What are _you_ talking about?"

"I just got a letter from Scorpius about the Yule Ball…did he tell you who he went with?"

I frowned. "No…"

"OK…I don't want you to start shouting…or break anything…or murder anyone…or have an epileptic fit…but he went with Rose."

It hit me like a tonne of bricks. "WHAT?"

"Our son went to the Yule Ball with – "

"I heard but…WHAT?"

"It's true but…that's not all."

"WHAT?" Wow. Seemed like that was all I could say. "No, no, no, this can't be happening. This can _not_ be happening."

Astoria watched me as I silently went demented. "I don't think you're quite ready to hear the rest of it."

"What could possibly be worse? Go on…I'm waiting." I winced, waiting…

Astoria took a deep breath. "So they went to the Yule Ball together and then after Scorpius was seen with another girl and now Ron's going to kill you." She said it so fast I could barely hear what she was saying.

"Ah." I nodded. "Would you excuse me for _two minutes_, please? I need to go hit something."

"What are you angry about exactly?"

"Scorpius…Rose…it's just…_weird_."

"I thought you and Ron were all right nowadays," Astoria frowned.

"We are but…it's just weird. It could be the fact that Rose's cousin hates our son. A _lot_." I suddenly had an idea. "Hey…who is that letter from exactly?"

"I don't know…it's not signed, and I didn't recognize the owl that brought it."

I sighed. "Does this mean they're like…together now?" I shuddered at the thought.

"I suppose so…"

"Well I most definitely don't approve!"

"Why not? Come on, she's a nice girl. Give her a chance."

I sighed. Again. "You're just going to have to admit our son's growing up." She shrugged.

There was a sudden banging at the door and Astoria answered it as I tried to make sense of my sudden predicament. "Uh, Draco, it's for _you_."

I walked towards the door and saw a murderous-looking Ron Weasley glaring at me. "You!" He said venomously and started walking towards me.

"Ron…_calm_ down." I said, backing away from him. He looked like an angry Hippogriff on a rampage. And I'd had my share of _bad_ experiences with those things…

"Keep…your…_son_…away from my daughter." He shuddered, as if the thought made him sick.

"Oh, I am _scared_." I said sarcastically.

"You should be."

"Eat slugs, Weasley," I smirked.

"THAT _WOULD_ HAVE WORKED IF IT WASN'T FOR MY DODGY WAND, OK?" He yelled.

"If you say so, Weasley."

"Men…" Astoria muttered and went back into the living room.

"Look, Ron, I don't want to start a fight or anything, so why don't you come in and sit down and we'll work this out."

"There _is_ nothing to work out, OK? And before you dare say anything else I beat you at Black Ops that time."

I gasped. "You did _not_!"

"Draco we _all _know I did, you can't play that game to save your _life_!"

"I am _offended_."

"That is the whole _point_." Ron nodded as if he was talking to someone a little crazy. "Anyway keep your dang son away from my dang daughter, _dang it_!" Ron paused. "I can't really pull that off, can I?"

"You're not very 'street' if you don't mind me saying so."

"Anyway, back to the subject. Keep him _away_."

I nodded trying to hold in my laughter. Ron trying to do the whole threatening thing...it wasn't working out for him. "So Black Ops tonight then?"

"Yeah…"

"Good. Now get out of my house."

"Do you have to be so rude?"

"Yes. Yes I do!" I sighed. "I can't really pull of the whole Phineas and Ferb thing can I?"

"You're not very Tri-State-Area," Ron shrugged.

"Yeah…so you just go home and prepare yourself to get crushed at Black Ops."

"HA! I will! I mean…I won't! Whatever!"

_**

* * *

**_

Haha, how'd you guys like that one? There is

**nothing**_** more entertaining to write than a few overprotective parent scenes…hehehe :P**_

_**Review! :O Where are my manners…? Review, PLEASE! Pretty pretty please…with Doritos on top…Mmmmm, I like Doritos…Om nom nom…ANYWAY, REVIEW! =D**_


	26. Don't Get Too Close

_****_

Before you read this chapter, I just wanted to say…whoever called JKRowling a pumpkin with no taste…I think that's rather exaggerated! JKRowling is the reason I'm doing this right now…but thanks anyway :) You guys are the best, your reviews make my day :D

_**I'm sure you'll be glad to know that Hootie returns in this chapter…Wow, for an owl he gets a LOT of publicity :S**_

_**Anyway, enjoy ;)**_

**Chapter Twenty Six – "Don't Get Too Close"**

_****_

Draco…

"Oh, no, no, I refuse!"

"It's just a simple bet." Ron replied. "If I win this match, you keep your son away from my daughter. If you win, they get to keep…_dating_ or whatever, deal?"

"No! I don't even approve of…_it_."

"Fine!" Ron exclaimed. "If you win…I don't know, we'll think about it later! Can we just get on with this, please?" He ordered.

"Yes! _God_, you are _so_ annoying."

"Vain."

"Stupid."

"Conceited!"

"Dim-witted!"

"SMARMY ARROGANT GIT!"

"DENSE BRAINLESS IDIOT!"

Ron gasped. "Take that back."

"_Never_!" I smirked.

"I mean it…that hurt!" Ron said sarcastically, wiping an invisible tear from his eye.

"I'm sure you'll live," I replied, rolling my eyes. "Just turn the damn thing on, will you?"

Ron sighed. "Bloody hell," he muttered under his breath. "No need to get your wand in a knot…"

"I heard that, and for your information my wand is exceptionally knot-free, OK?"

"Whatever. You are so sarcastic!"

"What can I say? I was an extremely gifted child. It's a gift." I grinned, knowing it'd annoy him even more.

"Oh _please_, you can't even play a simple Muggle game. And you're supposedly '_extremely talented_'. _Scabbers_ was more talented than you, my deluded friend."

"I'd take that back if I were you."

"If you were me I'd be extremely unfortunate," Ron grinned.

"Trust me…I can make your death look like an accident, _Weasley_!"

"Is that a threat, _Malfoy_?"

"Yes. Yes it is."

"_Stop it_ with the Phineas and Ferb thing. For the _last_ time, you can't pull it off."

It was a miracle that I didn't _murder_ him by the end of the day.

_**

* * *

**_

A Few Weeks Later…

_**Scorpius…**_

Rose's aunt Ginny was handling the situation a _lot_ better than her father was.

Yet another term had past. The bleak winter weather had been replaced by sun and warmth. You know how Easter's supposed to be all happy and stuff? Ha!

Ron had been glaring at me for such a long time I was surprised his eyes weren't watering by now. It was actually pretty uncomfortable.

"So Scorpius, you'll have to come and visit James and Rose, of course, during the holidays," Rose's aunt said politely, breaking the awkward silence. She looked at her brother for approval.

Rose's father gritted his teeth and forced a smile that didn't look like a smile at all. He actually looked like he was in pain.

"Uh, yeah, sure, of course, if it's OK with his parents of course," Ron muttered, aiming it mostly at my dad. Rose – stood by my side – looked from me to her dad nervously. My own dad's eyes were flickering from me, to Rose and to Ron. Both of our mothers, on the other hand, seemed a lot more…friendly.

"Oh of course it's OK with us. _Right_ Draco?" Mother replied.

"What? Yeah, right."

"Well," Ron began, "we should get going. Come on Rose," he said, grabbing Rose's arm and practically dragging her behind him.

She turned round to face me. "Bye, Scorp. I'll owl you." She smiled apologetically.

I nodded. "Bye Rose," I muttered and gave a little wave.

* * *

"Still no replies then, Scorp?" Mother asked me as she busied herself in the kitchen.

"Nah," I answered as I finished my Potions essay and leaned back in my seat, giving an almighty sigh.

I'd written to Rose about three times so far, and there had been no reply. Ron probably had every entrance to their house under surveillance so that he could check if I'd been writing to his daughter. Then he'd probably shred up the letters, burn the vestiges and then pour acid all over the remains. Probably.

I was starting to lose hope when Hootie the owl flew through the open window and landed on the table on front of me. "Hootie!" I exclaimed and he gave me a friendly peck. "Got anything for me?" He dropped an envelope into my hand and opened it.

"_Scorpius,_

_Before I say anything, I wanted you to know that I haven't replied because, well, my dad is still sort of…adapting to everything, but he should be OK in a few days._

_Anyway, my parents agreed to let you stay at our place for a while, if you want to, and if it's OK with your parents of course. Send Hootie back with a reply ASAP._

_Rose_

_PS. This letter would've been longer if it wasn't for my dad leaning over my shoulder telling me what to write and watching me as I write it. Sorry!"_

"Who's that from, Scorp?" Mother said cheerfully.

"Rose," I replied. "They've invited me to stay at their place for a while. Can I go?"

"It's fine with me…I have a feeling it won't be so easy persuading your father, though."

"Yeah, I gathered that." I rolled my eyes. "I don't get it…why does he _hate_ me so much?"

"That is _ridiculous_; of course he doesn't hate you! He's your father."

"He doesn't let me do _anything_. All I want is a little freedom! I'm nearly fifteen, for God's sake."

"Look, the thing you've got to understand about your dad is that he didn't exactly have the easiest childhood. You know what his parents were, don't you?"

"Yeah, I know, all right," I muttered.

"Well that's it – he didn't want you to have the same childhood he did."

"That's the _point_ – I'm not a child anymore!"

"I know, I know. Look, I'm sure he'll let you go, and if he says no I'll have a word with him, OK?"

"_Fine_." I sighed and went to find Dad. Wish me luck.

"Dad?" I called as I opened the door to the living room. He was sat on the sofa watching some cartoon on the Muggle TV.

"_So stick with us 'cause Phineas and Ferb are gonna do it all!_" Someone inside the TV said.

"Dad…what are you watching?"

He laughed. "I'm not watching this! Don't be silly," He muttered and zapped the TV off with the push of a button.

I frowned. "Whatever. Dad I need to ask you something."

He suddenly looked terrified. He cleared his throat, "Fire ahead."

"Rose – and her family – invited me to stay with them for a while. Can I go?"

He was silent for a moment. "Well…"

"Please Dad? Come on I'm almost fifteen years old…you have to give me a _little_ freedom." So I was trying to guilt him into it…So what?

"How long for?"

"I don't know yet, a few days I guess."

Dad sighed. "Fine!"

"Thanks Dad, you're the best!" I said happily as I bounded out of the room to send a reply back to Rose…

_**

* * *

**_

Rose…

"Dad! I don't see why you don't like him, I mean, he's fine when you get to know him. I'm your daughter, you should trust my judgement!"

"Exactly! You're my daughter, you're just a child, you don't know what you want yet." Dad replied.

"I'm nearly _fifteen_! A little independence would be nice!" I shouted back.

"Rose Weasley!" He bellowed. "I've already said he can come, I thought that was what you wanted!"

"Yes, but I don't want you looking at him and talking to him like he's a particularly annoying flu virus or something!"

"I told you when you first started Hogwarts! I distinctly remember me saying "Don't get too close, Rosie.' and what did you do? You went and did it anyway!"

"Well yeah, because he's actually a very nice person when you – "

"Well I should hope so, seeing as you've decided to start dating each other or whatever you want to call it."

"So why do you _hate_ him so much?"

"Well I'm sorry but he didn't exactly give a first good impression!" He yelled back as I stormed upstairs. I just couldn't understand why he hated Scorpius so much…It just didn't make sense.

_**

* * *

**_

Scorpius…

The next day it was bright and warm. A warm breeze was blowing and the sky was totally blue and cloudless.

"Ready, Scorp?" Father asked, rather reluctantly.

"Yeah, I'm ready," I replied.

"See you in a few days, Scorp." Mother smiled, and with that we Apparated to the Weasley's house.

I knocked on the front door and, most unfortunately, Ron answered.

"Morning Draco…_Scorpius_." Father and Ron shot an odd glance at each other. "Come on in, Scorp, make yourself at home." Ron muttered.

"Thanks." I muttered back and entered the house.

"If he's any trouble at all just…just let me know." I heard Father say as I walked down the hallway.

"Oh don't worry, I will." Ron replied venomously and then shut the door.

"Hey, Scorp!" I heard Rose's younger brother Hugo say.

"Oh, hi Hugo, I didn't see you." I grinned.

"If you're looking for Rose she's in her room, her and Dad had an argument this morning. Shall I go call her down for you?" Hugo offered politely.

"Yeah, sure, if you don't mind. Thanks, Hugh," I called as he disappeared up the stairs.

"Morning Scorpius," I heard Hermione say as she emerged from the kitchen. "Do come in."

"Morning Mrs Weasley," I smiled. At least Hugo and his mother didn't hate me like Ron did.

"Oh, call me Hermione. Are you hungry or anything?"

"No, I'm fine thank you. I just ate breakfast before I came," I shrugged as I sat down at the table. Ron entered at that precise moment, followed by Rose.

"Sure you don't want anything to eat, Scorp?" Ron said…extremely politely.

And he _smiled_ too!

Had I stumbled into a parallel universe?

Oh, the horror!

"No I'm fine, honestly."

"Oh, I insist." Ron protested and started making me…_something_ to eat.

Five minutes later he handed me a plate with a seemingly harmless-looking sandwich on it. I peered at it for a minute and decided that it hadn't been poisoned or anything. I was just about to take a bite when I realised that there was something weird-looking poking out of it. I took a look at it and…

"EW!" I yelled and jumped away from the table.

"Scorp?" Rose frowned. "What's the matter?"

"_Sandwich…worm_…" I managed to say. Ron looked extremely bemused.

"What?" Rose said.

"HE PUT A _WORM_ IN MY SANDWICH!" I exclaimed, pointing at Ron.

He gasped. "I did no such thing!"

"Oh! Oh, so it just managed to wiggle into my sandwich all by itself?"

"I know not of how that worm came to be in your sandwich, OK?" Ron said. "All I know is that I was just trying to make your stay more comfortable! Anyway Hermione was watching me the whole time!"

"You have a _wand_."

"You little – " He didn't finish his sentence on account of the fact that he came at me so fast that I wouldn't have been surprised if someone told me he'd developed super powers in the time since I'd seen him at Platform 9 ¾ a few days ago. It took both Rose _and_ Hermione to hold him back.

"Ron!" Hermione hissed. "What did I tell you about controlling your temper?" He relaxed and shook them away.

"I suppose you find this _funny_, don't you?" He spat.

"A little," I shrugged.

Ron scowled at me. "All right, all right, two can play that game."

"Ronald! Will you please stop being so childish?"

"Dad, please stop this." Rose chipped in.

"I'll never stop! Never!" He exclaimed and tried storming out of the kitchen.

Too bad he tripped on the way. It kind of ruined the effect.

"I may have stumbled, but that does not lessen the significance of this departure!"

"If you say so, Dad…" Rose muttered, rolling her eyes as he slammed the door behind him.

Hermione sighed. "Don't worry about him, Scorpius; he takes a little getting used to, if you know what I mean…"

I nodded. "I'm sure he'll come around soon, Scorp," Rose shrugged. "He seems to think this is all just a game."

Then let the games begin…


	27. Rubber Spiders and Dungbombs

_**Hey guys! Thanks a lot for reviewing, you guys make my day :')**_

_**I hope you like this chapter, coz it was really fun to write so…yeah.**_

_**Enjoy! This chapter is for both Creamsodafloat (again :P) and Mysterious…thanks for giving me the awesomest, longest, amazingest reviews ever :)**_

**

* * *

**

Chapter Twenty Seven – Rubber Spiders and Dungbombs

_**Scorpius…**_

I was a genius.

I mean, I knew that before…but I'd just reached a new level of genius-ness. And I was going to watch my plan unfold right in front of me…

Ron entered the kitchen, unaware that I was watching him, and frowned at the box of chocolate frogs on the kitchen table, before shrugging and opening it.

Any second now…and…

"ARGH!" Ron yelled as about a thousand (rubber) spiders cascaded from the ceiling. He ran out of the kitchen and carried on yelling. "HERMIONE!"

"What is it Ron? Are you hurt? What happened?" Hermione shrieked, running down the stairs.

"_Spiders_…" he whimpered, "in the _kitchen_! _Lots_ of them!"

Hermione peered into the kitchen and at the 'spiders'…which weren't actually moving. Sighing, she rolled her eyes. "Ronald…they're _rubber_!"

"What?" He ordered. "_Scorpius_…"

Revenge is _so_ great!

* * *

I was still hiding from Ron a few hours later. James had come over and we were currently in a game of Wizard's Chess. "I am older _and_ wiser than you, so don't expect to win any time soon, Malfoy," James smirked. He was nothing like his maniac brother – thank god.

"Whatever, Potter, we'll see."

"Yes. Yes we shall," James replied, sighing, "Sweet, young, naïve Scorpius…don't you understand? You will _never_ beat me at Wizard's Chess."

"Sounds like you two are enjoying yourselves," Rose said, standing in the doorway, before joining us in the living room.

"Scorp's about to lose yet another match of Wizard's Chess, that's all," James muttered, studying the chessboard and wondering where to go next.

"Nothing out of the ordinary, then," Rose grinned.

"Hey!" I said defensively. "That isn't very nice, you know."

"I know," Rose shrugged. I rolled my eyes and got up. Giving up already, Malfoy?" James smirked.

"You'd better watch what you say." I said tiredly. "Well, I'm going to bed. See you guys."

"Hey, uh, one minute, I'll show you the guest room," James said, and followed me out of the living room.

"Night Rose," I said, "see you tomorrow."

"See you Scorp," she replied gently, and James led me upstairs to the guest room.

"So what's going on with you two anyway?" James asked as he pulled open a door in the upstairs hallway.

I sighed. "It's…well, it's – "

"Complicated? Doesn't _everyone_ say that?" He muttered as we entered the room.

"Well it is!"

"Yeah, yeah," he mumbled, "anyway, if you need anything, blah blah _blah_, just say or whatever."

I flopped down onto the bed and in a few minutes I was in a deep sleep…

* * *

I slept soundly for the whole night without waking. In the morning I woke up and dragged myself to the bathroom.

And got the shock of my life.

I stared in the mirror completely gobsmacked. My normally white-blonde hair had turned…_pink_.

Is there a _less_ manly colour?

I felt like barging downstairs, grabbing a hammer and smushing Ron into a thousand pieces. I think I was about to, when my hair suddenly went from pink, to fuchsia, to _bright red_. And I mean _blood-red_.

"Weasley…won't get away with this one…where is he?" I muttered pretty much to myself, before opening the door and storming downstairs.

"Morning Scorpius," Ron said gleefully, "Did you do something different with your hair? I can't quite put my finger on it."

"You did this to me! Take the charm off or _whatever_ it is! Now!"

"Sorry, no can do," he shook his head, really, really annoyingly.

"You are _despicable_!"

"Am I? Am I _really_?"

"YES! NOW TURN MY HAIR BACK TO NORMAL!"

"Or what?" He grinned. He was really enjoying this. "Oh look! You're hair's gone blue! Hey I forgot to tell you – about the colour…it'll change depending on your mood."

"Wow, I didn't know _you_ could do something as complicated as _that_."

"It wasn't _that_…HEY!"

"WOULD YOU PLEASE TAKE THIS CHARM OFF?" I exploded.

"I don't think I will. See you later," Ron grinned and walked out of the room.

I sighed and sat down on the sofa, my head in my hands. This wasn't what I wanted…There was one thing I wanted to know – why did Ron hate me so much? I'd never been horrible to him or particularly rude or anything…

"Scorpius!" I heard Rose exclaim. My head shot up and I saw her stood in front of me. "What the hell happened to you?"

"Your dad is what happened. I'm going home," I muttered as she sat down next to me.

"What? What did he do?"

"I don't know! I was asleep and now my _hair_ changes colour depending on my mood. Yes – I have magic hair that turns _red_ when I'm angry and _blue_ when I'm upset. Not many other people can say that!"

"Don't worry; I'm sure my mum will come up with something to turn your hair back to normal."

"All right, but afterwards I'm leaving. I've had enough of this."

Rose shook her head. "I'll be back in one minute," she said, before leaving the room.

She returned a few moments later and Hermione followed her into the living room. "Good _lord_, Scorpius!"

"What colour is it now?" I asked irritably.

"_Green_," Hermione replied, shocked, "but the question is _why_ it is green…"

"Your saint-like husband charmed me while I was asleep. Can you fix it?"

"Yes, of course," she mumbled, and pulled out her wand, gave it a wave and…

"There!" She said rather triumphantly. "It's back to it's normal, white-blonde, typical Malfoy self."

"Thank you. And thanks for being so hospitable Miss Weasley and you too." I said, looking at Rose. "Well I'll see you at school. I'll just go get my stuff and I'll go."

"Wait, wait, wait," Hermione said calmly, before yelling "RONALD!"

"Yes, 'Mione?" He called back from upstairs.

"Get down here right now!" He came thundering downstairs at her command. "Apologize. Now."

"To _who_? For _what_?"

"You _know_ what," Hermione said expectantly.

"All right," Ron muttered, "I'll head over the Draco's right away and tell him he can pull off the Phineas and Ferb thing."

Hermione looked like he wanted to punch him. In the face. "Ronald…I'm talking about Scorpius and Rose. Apologize to them both!"

"What did I _do_?"

"Uh, you charmed Scorpius so that his hair went all _chameleon_, and our daughter is currently not speaking to you."

"Fine. Sorry _Rose_," Ron mumbled. Rose looked at him expectantly. "Sorry, _Scorpius_."

"That's better." I chipped in. "Now say it like you mean it."

Ron glared at me. "I am very sorry, please accept my apology," he said slowly.

"I _suppose_ I can forgive you…" I sighed. "If you stop trying to wreck my life."

"Yes, yes, fine, whatever."

_Wow_, I'm awesome.

_**

* * *

**_

Draco…

"Please," I rolled my eyes at him, "your life is easy to say the least."

"It is not!" Ron protested. "Your life is a lot easier than mine. All you do all day is sit in Malfoy Manor counting money!"

"Au contraire, my friend. I do a _lot_ more than count money all day…although I have to admit – it is one of my favourite pastimes.

Ron sighed. "You wouldn't be able to hack it if you were me, you know."

"Ha! Don't make me laugh, of _course_ I would," I retaliated, "I can do anything."

"Must you be so vain?" Ron frowned.

"Must you be so incredibly dim-witted?"

"Touché." Ron paused, lost in thought.

"Hey, don't think too hard. You might break something," I shrugged.

"Shut up, will you?" he glared. "If you're so incredibly gifted and talented at everything, why not give it a go? Tomorrow, I'll be you and you can be me."

What an amazingly, astoundingly, astonishingly _stupid_ idea. "Look Ron," I began, "I know you would absolutely love to be for a day but…"

"Or are you too _scared_?" He grinned.

"Scared? Me?" He nodded. "Scared?"

"That's what I said," he smirked. Oh, how I wish I could punch him in the face. Hard.

"Fine, I'll do it." I said quickly, not realising the consequences. "Wait…does that mean that I have to spend an entire day in your house?" I asked, horrified.

"Not necessarily, we could go out somewhere, because to be _quite_ honest, _I_ hate the idea of _you_ being in _my_ house all day as much as _you_ do," he nodded.

"Fine, if you think you can handle a day in my life."

There was already a devious plan forming in my head. I was so going to use this to my advantage….

_**

* * *

**_

The Next Day…

"Ready for this?" Ron asked, his wand at the ready.

"Obviously, I've been stood here for about ten minutes!"

"Uh, right…" he mumbled. He waved his wand and suddenly my hair turned flaming red and was falling into my eyes and there, before me, Ron stood – his eyes stormy grey and his hair white-blonde.

"DON'T LOOK AT ME! I'M HIDEOUS!" Ron cried, before bursting into laughter.

"That _isn't_ funny." I said bluntly. Ron suddenly gasped. "What?" I demanded. "What happened? Did something go wrong?"

"No…is that _really_ what my hair looks like?"

"_Please_," I rolled my eyes, "do you _own_ a mirror?"

"Yeah but…it's different…" Ron said, his eyes narrowed as he looked at me.

"Let's get going…I can tell I'm going to enjoy this." I grinned and we made our way to the Three Broomsticks.

A waiter approached us. "Can I get you anything?"

"I'll have a Butterbeer please." I replied.

The waiter shook his head. "I'm very sorry sir, but we're out of Butterbeer…is there anything else I can get you?"

Ronald – still disguised as me – stood up in disgust. "_Excuse_ me?" He ordered. The waiter looked a little puzzled and quite taken aback. "Do you _know_ who this _is_?"

The waiter remained silent. "_Ronald Weasley_!" He proceeded. "And if _Ronald Weasley_ wants _Butterbeer_, he gets it, _got it_?"

"But we're – "

"DON'T. SAY. _OUT_!"

The waiter hesitated before speaking again. "You know our Firewhiskey is absolutely exquisite – "

"But he doesn't _want_ Firewhiskey! He wants _Butterbeer_." Ron hissed.

"That's it! Out! Both of you! Out of here, right now!" Someone bellowed. Madam Rosmerta may have been quite old, but she was still as tough as she'd ever been. And _loud_, at that. "That's it! Out! And don't back in here again!"

So Ron had got me banned from the Three Broomsticks already, and we'd only been disguised as each other for about half an hour. I'd get him back eventually. I _would_.

_**Later That Day…**_

_**Scorpius…**_

"What is it called again?" I asked, looking at the huge square thing in front of me. There was a large circle on the front and lots of clothes inside it, which were spinning round and round.

"A _washing machine_?" Rose smiled.

"Wow…Muggles _aren't_ so stupid _after_ all."

She laughed. "You can be so narrow-minded at times."

"Says the girl who doesn't even believe in Valentine's Day…"

"Will you ever let that drop?"

"No. No I won't." I grinned.

There was a long silence before Rose spoke up again. "I'm glad you decided to stay Scorpius." She said and I pulled her into a hug.

"Me too." I muttered.

"Ugh!" Hugo grimaced. "I think I'm gonna be sick," he rolled his eyes and Rose pulled away. "Ignore him." She said.

"You to tell me to ignore all your family members. Your dad, your brother…"

"Yes, well, that's they're all a bunch of freaks."

I glanced at the clock. It should happen any time soon…

While Ron had been out today, I'd left a…_special_ surprise waiting for him in his room.

BOOM!

"HERMIONE!" Ron bellowed.

Hey, _I_ thought I was doing him a _favour_. He _was_ the one who always said "Dungbombs _rule_!", wasn't he…?

**_Go on...REVIEW! PLEASE!_**

**_You know you want toooooooo...and I want you to, too! Hehehe, "to, too" that sounded funnnnyyyy :D_**

**_Anyway, REVIEW!_**


	28. Vengeance and Crazy Frogs

_**So this chapter goes to xxxLittleMissLoonyxxx 'Tis a short one, but I hope you like it.**_

_**To xxxLittleMissLoony, thanks for your constant reviews! You're awesome! =D and a fellow Phineas and Ferb fan :)**_

_**Enjoy this, because, well, I don't think I'll be uploading as much because I'm in the process of moving house, sorry!**_

_**Now, let's see if this chapter can reach 100 reviews :D**_

**Chapter Twenty Eight – Vengeance and Crazy Frogs**

"Ron…I am _going_ to kill you," I hissed.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Ron smirked, "because you'll be stuck like that forever if you do."

"What?"

"If you killed me you'd be stuck looking like that for ever," Ron gasped. "I couldn't let that happen…you'd ruin my reputation."

"Reputation? _I'd_ ruin _your_ '_reputation'_?" I repeated. "Are you _stupid_?"

It was just another one of our stupidly pointless conversations. He never took my insults to heart though – he knows I'm just kidding.

Well…most of the time.

But when he tells me stop trying to pull off the Phineas and Ferb thing…that's when things start getting _really_ personal.

"No!" Ron shouted defensively.

"_Well_ some people would argue _otherwise_."

"You're a right idiot, you know that?"

"How could I not know that? You tell me every other minute, for god's sake," I rolled my eyes, moving my Weasley hair yet again out of my eyes. "Say," I began, "how do you _see_ with all _this_ in your eyes?"

"How come you don't own an item of clothing that isn't either black or green?" Ron retaliated.

I glared at him. "_Touché_."

"Looks like you're never going to be let into the Three Broomsticks again. Ever." Ron smirked.

"I WILL HAVE MY VENGEANCE!" I exploded suddenly. "MARK MY WORDS, WEASLEY!"

Ronald spluttered with laughter. "Eat slugs," I muttered, and the smirk on his face was instantly wiped off his face. "That's what I thought. Hey, how's Scorpius? I haven't seen him since he started staying at yours."

Ron hesitated before he spoke. "He's…he's fine."

_**

* * *

**_

Scorpius…

"How are you?" Rose asked gently.

"_Fine_." I snapped, very un-finely. I sighed. "Sorry…I didn't mean to snap at you."

She smiled. "It's all right," she shrugged.

"No, it's not. I always seem to be angry these days and you just _take_ it. You should shout at me more often," I grinned.

"I don't think anybody has ever told me to shout at them before," she laughed.

"What can I say? I'm one of a kind."

_**

* * *

**_

A few hours later…

My plan was working – stay with Rose for most of the day so that Ron couldn't sabotage me again. Oh yeah – I was a _complete_ and _utter_…_genius_.

I was in a rather happy mood until a certain family showed up at the door. The Potters, of course.

"Hey, Scorp," James grinned.

"Hello, Scorpius," Lily grinned.

"Afternoon, Scorpius," Ginny grinned.

"_Scorpius_." Albus muttered, glaring.

See the extremely, abnormally _subtle_ difference there?

I nodded at them and shut the door after they entered. "Bet I'll beat you at Wizard's Chess again," James smirked as he entered the living room.

"Bet you _won't_." I said, following him in.

"Hey, Rosie, cheer up!" James said excitedly as he bounded into the room. She looked up from the book she was reading.

"I am cheered up!" She exclaimed as he snatched the book out of her hands. "James, give that back."

"Hogwarts: A History, again, Rosie?" James groaned. "You've already read it cover to cover five times!"

Rose blushed and shrugged. "How many times a day do you play Wizard's Chess?"

James glared at her and threw the book gently back at her. She caught it and immediately opened it again.

"Don't be mean to each other, you guys," I called as they broke into another argument.

They both looked at me like I'd gone crazy. "Who are you and what have you done with Scorpius?" James asked, seemingly terrified.

"Ha ha, that is so _very_ funny," I said sarcastically, "I'm _just_ saying."

"Your father would be disappointed. Scorpius has gone all soft." Albus smirked as he entered the room.

"Oh, we're back to this are we?" I said, not even bothering to turn around, "How very silly of me! I thought we'd put all this behind us. Evidently not."

Albus rolled his eyes and sighed. "I just want to know…why _her_?" Albus asked, gesturing at Rose.

"Why do you mean '_why her_'?"

"I mean," Albus began, "out of all people…why choose _my_ cousin?"

"Oh no he _didn't_!" James suddenly exclaimed. A shot him a look that said 'that isn't helping!'

"Sorry…" he muttered.

"So go on…why?" Albus wasn't glaring or scowling at me, he looked very interested in what I had to say.

"I am not having this conversation, Albus."

"Come on, I just want to know."

He…he…he smiled.

QUICK! PASS THE SUNGLASSES BEFORE SOMEONE GETS BLINDED! OH, THE _HORROR_! THE _HORROR_!

Well…it was sort of a half-smile. But STILL – a smile is a smile, no?

"Albus that is out of order," James chipped in, "seriously, that's kind of personal information." He said, trying to calm down the situation.

"James, I wasn't _talking_ to you!"

James gasped. "Don't _make _me click my fingers in the _Z_ formation. Because I _will_ cross that line!"

Albus sighed. "All I wanted to know is what's so special about her. I mean come on, there must be loads of girls out there and he had to choose _our_ cousin." He said, mainly to James.

"You know, I'm sat _right_ here." Rose muttered.

"Rose, sorry but –" Albus started.

"Don't bother apologizing." She said bluntly, before storming out of the room.

"Rose?" I called as she stomped upstairs.

"Don't bother," James said, "she won't listen. She's got a temper, that one."

"Yeah…gathered that much."

* * *

When Rose emerged from her room, Albus and his family were gone. Her eyes were quite puffy. I knew she'd been crying.

"Rosie?"

She looked up at me. "Yes?"

"Do you _want_ to know why I chose you?"

She nodded slowly.

I tried to stop myself from grinning. "Well I can't tell you that."

"What? Why not?"

"Don't be stupid, I'd be here all night if I tried to."

She sighed. "Be serious. You're a Malfoy! A _pureblood_. Why would you choose me? Isn't your family just a huge line of Purebloods?"

"Yes, but I don't _care_, Rosie! Hell, I wouldn't care if you were _Muggle_-born!" I said. "Damnit, I don't see why everybody expects me to have blood status at the top of my list of priorities, because I _don't_!"

Rose swallowed. "Still you're a Malfoy."

"Does it matter though, Rose? Even if I wasn't a Malfoy I'm pretty sure I'd still really like you. I don't _care_, all right? Let them say what they want, it won't affect me. The only person who cares is your bloody cousin!" A tear slipped down from her eye.

"No, Rose, I…I didn't mean to make you cry." I said gently. I hugged her and felt her tears soaking my shirt. "Don't cry, it's OK." I found myself running my fingers through her hair and soon she stopped crying. We didn't move or pull away from each other until Ron showed up. He looked at us and his eyes flashed.

And he did something I really wasn't expecting.

He didn't attack me.

He didn't shoot me.

He didn't find a 36-inch knife forged from the fires of a volcano to mutilate me with.

No. He did quite the opposite.

He gave a little half-smile, turned around…and walked away.

He…walked away.

There was no blood. No shouting. No screaming.

I was…I was stunned, to say the least.

Blimey…

* * *

"Dude!" Lysander exclaimed. "I missed you!"

Rose and I had met up with Lysander and Selena in Diagon Alley and Lysander had literally pounced on us…something told me that his holidays had probably been about as riveting as watching _paint_ dry.

"Looks like someone's had a boring holiday…" I smiled.

"That, my friend," Lysander began, "is an understatement." He suddenly gasped. "Have you guys heard that new Selena Gomez song? It is…it's _AWESOME_!"

"Lysander I've heard you sing it about a thousand times already today," Selena (our Selena…not some Muggle singer that Lysander was hooked on) grinned.

"Sorry, but you know it's awesome," Lysander smiled back, and suddenly burst into song. "_A thousand church bells ringing, I can hear the angels singing when you call my name, your love is off the chain_."

"Seriously, stop singing that!"

"You love it really," Lysander smirked, "admit it."

"When _hell_ freezes over," Selena rolled her eyes.

"I am…" Lysander sniffed. "…_wounded_."

"You say that nearly every day," she beamed, "how come you aren't dead yet?"

"Hurtful!" His offended expression suddenly melted away and Lysander said the weirdest thing I think I've ever heard him say. "DING DING!"

"What are you _doing_?" Rose asked bluntly.

"I'm singing Crazy Frog, what do you _think_ I'm doing? DING DING!"

"You are absolutely mental, you know that Scam?"

"Awww," he gushed, "thanks, Alfo! You're awesome!"


	29. Ron Weasley's TreeRelated Wish

_**Sorry for the long wait, guys, I've had a little case of writer's block and to top things off, my internet decided to go WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE**__**BOOM…FZZZZZZZZZZZZ**__**! Like those cool fireworks :)**_

_**But anyway, here it is and I hope you enjoy it. Won't be uploading so much…I'm moving house you see…TO A BUNGALOW! HOW COOL IS THAT?**_

**Chapter Twenty Nine – Ron Weasley's Tree-Related Wish**

It was the day before school started again and we were all getting our school stuff together.

"Have you all got your things?" Hermione asked while trying her best to force Hugo's trunk shut. Rose and I nodded. "For God's sake Hugo, what have you _got_ on here?"

"My school stuff, Mum!" Hugo exclaimed as she finally jammed it shut, rolling her eyes and breathing a sigh of relief.

She nodded. _Was she always like this?_

"And you two, you've finished all your homework, right?"

"Yes, mother." Rose drawled.

So everything was set. Tomorrow we'd return to school and everything'd be fine.

But come on…when do my plans ever work?

* * *

"Dude, he's totally glaring at you," Lysander muttered, nodding towards Albus.

"I really need help! What do I do about him?"

"I know," Lysander nodded and immediately took control of the situation. "OK, go down to the Great Hall and to the Ravenclaw table. Approximately a metre from the end, you'll find a key stuck _underneath_ it which unlocks a vault in the dungeons. Inside, there'll be a fake ID and a passport. Then, get a job and make enough money for a bus ticket to the Scottish border where someone will meet you and give you enough money to start a new life in Spain, and remember, from _now_ on your name is Carlos Esparalda!"

"That _really_ helps! Thank you _so_ much!"

"Really?" Lysander asked eagerly.

"No."

Lysander looked crestfallen but perked up as we saw Albus walking our way.

"OK, he's probably about to come and stick a knife through both of us, just be cool, I'll handle this one." Lysander muttered.

"Hi, Scorpius, hey Lysander." Albus…grinned. Yes – it was a full smile this time…not one of those sneaky half-smile things…but AN ACTUAL _SMILE_. FROM THE EMOTIONLESS ROBOT HIMSELF.

"What are you planning?" I asked straight out. He'd just said 'Hi' to me for goodness sake; he could be _plotting_ my decease this very _minute_! And trust me, Albus is one of those guys who could make my death look like an _accident_.

"What do you mean?" He narrowed his eyes.

"What do you _mean_ '_What do I mean_'?" I ordered.

"I'm not planning anything!" He exclaimed.

Lysander gasped. "Do you _really_ think we're that _stupid_? YOU'RE LIKE A SNAKE! ONLY WITHOUT THE SCALES OR ABILITY TO DO THAT COOL TONGUE THING! SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!" Lysander hissed.

"Lysander, calm down." I glanced at him, signalling for him to shut it.

"Sorry, but you know my on-the-spot-ability to think of similes is badass!"

"_Sure_," I shrugged. I looked at Albus – he looked extremely confused.

Well…more confused than _normal_, anyway…

"Why are you being so nice?" I asked suspiciously.

"Am I not allowed to be _nice_ or something?"

"It's just not very…_Albusish_," Lysander said, narrowing his eyes.

"That is true," I chipped in, "It really isn't."

Albus raised an eyebrow at us and gave us a _look_. It wasn't a glare…it was just a _look_. The oddity.

"Look Albus," Lysander said, "we never wanted to start a fight. Well…it's more of a _battle_. A _crusade_! A _brutal_ and violent _bloodbath_ of _malevolence_ and –"

"I get it!" Albus said, rolling his eyes. He looked straight at me and held out his hand. "So are we agreed?"

I looked him up and down. I let out a quiet laugh, shaking my head, "I don't trust you. Sorry."

_**

* * *

**_

Draco…

"_Would you take a good look at me_?" Ron warbled.

"No thanks."

"_I stand before you as a tree_!"

"Yeah, no kidding."

"_And you ask me what my wish would be_!"

"Seriously, stop singing."

"_It's probably related to be being a tree_!"

An answer to your question – no, we are _not_ on drugs. If you were there with us, it probably would look like it though. Ron was wearing a huge hat with branches coming out of it and covered in leaves. It seemed more like something _Luna Lovegood_ would wear.

"I can't believe you bought that hat just to sing that song!"

Ron lunged at me. "Don't…insult…that…song. It's legendary!" he hissed. "Tree-Related Wish by Jeremy in Phineas and Ferb…amazing. Absolutely phenomenal."

"Are you stupid? It's about thirty seconds long, and anyway, the best song in Phineas and Ferb is Come Home Perry!" I argued.

"I have the bestest idea ever!" Ron suddenly said.

"See, that would've sounded intriguing if you didn't say 'bestest'," I nodded.

"Whatever. If you think Come Home Perry is the best song in Phineas and Ferb, you have to walk down the street singing it, wearing a huge platypus costume." Ron smirked.

"Oh no! You will never in a million years get me to do that."

"Fine," Ron smirked, "Coward."

"I am not a – "

I was interrupted by the sound of Ron…_clucking_. Yes – as in the chicken kind of clucking. "Chicken!" He exclaimed, and continued doing his little chicken dance number.

"Look, just because I _don't_ enjoy publically humiliating myself like _you_ do, it does not make me a chicken."

Ron raised an eyebrow. "Au contraire, my friend."

"OK, I honestly can't take you seriously with that thing on your head. Please take it off."

"No! I refuse."

"If someone sees you they'll hold it against you for the rest of your life. If they can get over the horrific view, that is."

Right on cue, Astoria walked into the living room. She sighed, "That's it," she said. "I'm ordering straightjackets for you two. One covered in _leaves_ for you, I'm guessing." She said, addressing Ron.

"Hey, I have a perfectly good reason for wearing this…"

"And what's that?" Sometime's her stubbornness could get annoying, but only when it was us two arguing. However, this time it was rather entertaining.

"I…am trying to think of one." Ron rolled his eyes at his own stupidity. "Is Hermione with you?"

Hermione walked into the room. "I'm right here…_RONALD WHAT ARE YOU WEARING_?"

Ron looked genuinely terrified. Hermione looked like a lioness on a rampage. Astoria simply looked rather entertained. "Uh…a hat. With huge branches coming out of it…" Ron mumbled.

"Can't you dress like a _human being_ for _one _day?"

"It's not like I'm going to wear it outside!" Ron exclaimed.

"Yes he was!" I chipped in. "He wanted to walk down the street wearing that…_thing_."

Hermione glared. "Don't…you…_dare_."

Ron scowled at me and then looked back at his wife. "What don't you like about it?"

Hermione fumbled. She wasn't really one to hurt people's feelings…except when it came to me. Then she really didn't care. "It…clashes with your hair a little."

Ron shuffled around. "Can I wear it in the house?"

Hermione looked murderous. "Fine."

"Thanks 'Mione," Ron grinned and went in for a hug and Hermione narrowly missed being jabbed in the eye with a leaf from Ron's dodgy hat.

"Get that hat _out_ of my face!"

Ah, love…brings a tear to my eye…

* * *

**_So how was that guys? Sorry for the long wait, been quite busy lately, but anyway, I hope you enjoyed it :) Bad news...Chapter Thirty is gonna be the last one, me thinks :( so I'll make it good, and it'll be dedicated to everyone who's read this :D_**

**_But, anyway, REVIEW! =D Tell me if you think it should go on longer, and feel free to leave any song/plot requests :D Thanks :)_**


	30. Lost In Hollywood

_**Guess what guys?**_

_**It's not quite the end just yet :D**_

_**Oh no, there are still a few more chapters to come…hope you like this one :) Oh, and thanks for all your reviews, you guys really make my day. Well, in this case, my week :D Which brings me onto the fact that you probably all want to maim me right now for taking my sweet time with this chapter…but anyway, ENJOY!**_

**Chapter Thirty – Lost in Hollywood**

_**

* * *

**_

Scorpius…

"Dude I can't believe it's summer already," Lysander sighed. I nodded in agreement. "Ah…it seems like only yesterday we entered Hogwarts for the first time."

Two weeks before the end of the year, and there was a distinct buzz in the air. Everyone was happy that we'd almost finished our fourth year at Hogwarts, sad because we were leaving, and a whole other mix of emotions and…stuff.

"Seems like only yesterday I punched Albus…_in the face_." I grinned. "Wow…is it weird that it feels good to be able to say that?"

"Not at all, dude, not at all." Lysander shook his head. "So, any plans for the holidays?"

"None whatsoever. For some reason I have a feeling the summer holidays are going to be filled with boredom and Phineas and Ferb."

Lysander gasped. "How…how _could_ you?" He cried.

"What did I do?"

"You put boredom and Phineas and Ferb in the same sentence. _TAKE THAT BACK, NOW_!"

"Woah, Lysander, calm down. I didn't mean to offend you."

Wow. Talk about _obsessed_.

_**

* * *

**_

Draco…

"Ron, this obsession is getting out of hand. We need to get you help." I said calmly.

"I don't need help!" Ron said, outraged.

"Yes, you do. This has gone on long enough and I really think you need help."

"I don't!"

"This needs to stop!"

"I'LL NEVER STOP! NEVER NEVER NEVER!"

"I'm going to say this _one_ last time – WE ARE NOT GOING TO THE PHINEAS AND FERB CONVENTION!" I repeated for about the fiftieth time today.

"Please? I've got four free tickets, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!" Ron pleaded.

"No! I will not give in. We're not going and that's final. Why not ask _Potter_ to go with you?"

"He isn't exactly the world's biggest Phineas and Ferb fan." Ron mumbled.

"Really? Some cartoon isn't good enough for the Chosen One then, huh?"

"It isn't that. And don't say that – he _is_ still my best friend you know." Ron muttered. "But back to the subject…you know you want to." Then Ron did something that made my completely give up. He started waving the tickets in my face and I just couldn't resist.

"Alright!" I exclaimed and Ron nearly blew up with happiness. "Fine!"

"_Yes_! WE'RE GOING TO HOLLYWOOD!" Ron yelled at the top of his voice.

Well…this ought to be fun.

* * *

Three days later, and we were all set and ready to go.

"I can _not_ believe I'm actually about to go to a Phineas and Ferb convention." I groaned, instantly regretting saying yes to Ron.

"What are you on about? It's going to be _epic_."

"That's it, when we get back, you are not watching any TV whatsoever Ron, is that clear?" Hermione ordered.

"Why?" He whined.

"Because I said so."

"_Fine_."

"Good, now that we've got that all figured out we can leave. Astoria please tell me you're dreading this as much as I am." Hermione muttered.

"Believe me, _I am_."

We all took each other's hands and Apparated, and with a loud POP we were in what seemed to be a totally different world altogether. There was an extremely loud buzz as people yelled and chatted amongst themselves. Thousands of five year olds ran around in every direction. Huge posters took up every surface, some covered in pictures of Phineas and Ferb, some of them covered with massive pictures of Doofenshmirtz and Perry.

I glanced at Ron who was stood by my side. It was like standing next to a radioactive lump of metal. I don't think I'd ever seen him this happy before. There was an ear-to-ear grin that spread across his face.

He yanked my arm and dragged me further into the crowd. "C'mon! Let's go!" He exclaimed.

"Meet you two back here in two hours, OK?" I said, looking at Hermione and Astoria, who both looked like they were about to burst into tears at any minute.

* * *

"Ron! You've already bought five t-shirts, you don't need another one!" I exclaimed as Ron grinned gleefully, clutching a white t-shirt with the face of Baljeet printed on it.

"Fine, this'll be my last one." Ron handed over some Muggle money to the woman behind the counter, receiving a weird look from her in the process.

"Everyone here's looking at us weird," Ron mumbled as we walked deeper into the crowd. "I bet it's my red hair…do you think it makes me look too _Phineas_?"

"Ron there are people here who actually have cone-shaped _masks_ on their faces to look like Phineas. I wouldn't be too worried."

It was safe to say that Ronald had gone overboard with the souvenirs. He suddenly gasped and pointed in a random direction. "OH MY GOSH! LOOK! LOOK!" He shrieked and ran forwards.

When I caught up with him he was all decked out in a huge green suit. Not just any suit though…where Ron's head popped out there was a huge orange-yellow beak. There were also two huge beady eyes and a black hat topped the whole thing off. "Are you supposed to be Perry?" He nodded eagerly. "Let's just say I prefer the tree-hat you were wearing the other day."

"You are so _rude_! Whatever, I wanted to look at exact replicas of Doofenshmirtz lab coats _anyway_."

CUE LIGHTBULB MOMENT!

Hmmm…how completely awesome would it be if I had an exact replica of Doofensmirtz's lab coat and Potter didn't? I can see can practically see the jealousy seeping out of him…wow I'm good.

"Fine, let's go."

And then I meet my downfall…

I stretched out my hand to grab hold of the last lab coat on the rack before the crazed Doofenshmirtz fan next to me got it. Oh no, that lab coat was mine! A huge six-foot guy was at least a head taller than me, and about two times my size, but I was not backing down. Then I wondered…what was a guy like this doing at a Phineas and Ferb convention?

Then I understood what all the weird looks were about.

We both got hold of a sleeve each. "I believe I had hold of this first, therefore it is _mine_. I have to ask you to please _let go_." I hissed.

"You _please_ let go!"

"Get your filthy hands off of it. It's _mine_!"

"DROP THE LAB COAT AND DROP IT NOW!" I heard a voice boom from behind me. I whirled around to see a life-sized version of Dr Doofenshmirtz himself.

Yes – _the_ Dr Doofenshmirtz.

I looked at Ron who was silently going demented. I was sure he was hyperventilating…I could hear his shallow breaths from here.

"Please tell this man to let go," I requested calmly.

"No! Tell _him_ to let go!"

We kicked up such a fuss that literally everyone in the room was staring at us. Eventually a big beefy guy dragged both me and Ron out of the convention, yanking the black hat off Ron's head in the process. He was about to return inside when Ron yelled, "Can I at least have my hat?"

It suddenly came whizzing through the air and hit Ron in the eye.

"OUCH! MY CORNIA! YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT ONE, MATE! Come on Draco, we're _getting_ back in there."

"Stop! They won't let us back in there now…" I grinned mischievously. "What say we…do some exploring? We are in a totally different _country_ after all…"

"I don't know…" He paused, thought about it and replied, "OK fine!"

* * *

"Ha! I beat you!" Ron grinned with ice cream all over his face. I was pretty sure that, in the short space of time it had taken him to beat me in an ice-cream-eating contest, he'd got some of it in his hair, in his eye and even up his _nose_.

"Yeah well, try and say the same next time we play Black Ops and I beat you." I muttered.

"Draco…"

"Hmm?"

"I didn't want to have to go this far…but you left me no choice!"

In a flash, he'd leaped towards me and grabbed the cone of in half-finished ice cream and before I could stop him…he'd shoved it _right_ in my face.

"Ron…" I said, calmly trying to hold back my temper, "you have exactly _three_ seconds to live."

The man behind the ice-cream counter handed me a small rag to wipe my face with, but said nothing, just carried on reading his paper.

"I am going to kill you, Ronald."

Ron nervously looked at the watch on his wrist. "No time for that now! Our two hours is up…what do we _do_? They won't let us back into that convention!" Ron exclaimed suddenly.

"Are you sure you're not just trying to change the subject?" I said

"Look for _yourself_ if you don't believe me!" He shoved his arm in front of my face and let me see the time. Sure enough, our two hours were up.

"Ron…something just occurred to me. We're supposed in that damn convention and we have no idea where we are."

Ron swallowed and gave a shaky laugh. "That…that could be a problem."

"YOU THINK? WE'RE LOST IN A COMPLETELY FOREIGN COUNRTY WITH NO IDEA WHERE WE ARE!"

"It's OK! I have a plan…"

I gasped. "No…not a Ronald plan."

"Oh yes – a Ronald plan." Ron's eyes sparkled at the very prospect.

"Ron…the day one of your stupid plans work is the day Perry will lay an egg! Face it…it will never happen!" I shouted.

"OI! Perry will lay an egg one day. Look, all we have to do is…"

* * *

"I feel so stupid!" I hissed. Ron and I were totally unrecognizable, but we were in the convention and that was the main thing.

Ron was wearing a black wig, a fake handlebar moustache and a fake bushy beard and I…I had _dreadlocks_, for God's sake. We'd also sneaked into the STAFF ONLY area and uh…borrowed some different clothes. Ron was dressed as a hot-dog seller, while I was dressed up as a policeman. To be quite honest, I didn't think it would get us in, but it did.

The huge guy who'd chucked us out in the first place narrowed his eyes at us on our arrival. "I'm going to need to see some ID."

I held up the little slip of paper we'd found in the staff area.

"PC _Jimbob Sherwood_?" He said with a raised eyebrow. I nodded and he paused for a minute.

"Fine…in you go."

I opened the door to see a totally different place altogether. I expected to see Phineas and Ferb fans running amok, but instead…I was face to face with hundreds of Star Wars freaks.

"Ron…I don't think we're in the right place." I hissed as a couple of nerds ran up to us.

"May the force be with you!" They grinned simultaneously.

"Draco?"

"WHAT?" I ordered.

"I think we're lost."

"OH, DO YOU?" I shrieked.

"Just a little bit…"

* * *

**_Hehehe, cliffhanger :P_**

**_So how was that guys?_**

**_I just couldn't bring myself to end it...I just couldn't._**

**_Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it :) Please please pretty please review, awesome little dudes/dudettes :D_**


	31. Tales of Ferrets and Phellytones

_**So I just wanted to say…THANKS FOR ALL THE REVIEWS, DUDES! Hope you enjoy this chapter ;)**_

**Chapter Thirty One – Ferrets and Phellytones**

_**Scorpius…**_

"Hey, Lysander, listen!" I said eagerly.

"What's up Scorp?"

"Well…" I began. "You know it's almost the end of year…I wanted to do something special."

Lysander paused for a moment before a wide grin broke out on his face. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"What…you're _thinking_? Are you _OK_?" I grinned sarcastically.

"Shut up. Anyway…I think I know what you're talking about."

"Well you should. I was just telling you the idea yesterday!"

"Oh, that idea…Excellent! I'll bring the stuff tomorrow." Lysander said before running off.

"Uh…what stuff? Lysander? WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?"

But the only reply I received was the sound of my own voice echoing down the now-empty hallway.

Hmm…Lysander may have misinterpreted my predicament.

Oops…

* * *

I stood motionless looking up at the monstrosity in front of me. I tried to speak, but my voice never left me. My heart started to race.

"Lysander…" I began calmly, swallowing, trying my best not to run away. "WHY IS THERE AN ELEPHANT RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME?"

"You know what? I was thinking the exact same thing when I met Spud. He seems to have that effect on people."

"_Spud_? It's called _Spud_?"

"Uh, _yeah_." Lysander beamed, stroking it's trunk. "What did you _expect_ it to be called? _Sheela_?"

"No, but…whatever. Get it out of here; you could be in big trouble!"

"Why? I didn't let him into the castle!"

"Oh, so you just found him roaming around the corridors? How come no-one else saw it?" I said as I stepped back to avoid letting its trunk come any nearer.

"Well…" Lysander said sheepishly. "It depends what you mean by 'let in', if you get what I mean."

I cringed. "What happened?"

"Professor McGonagall left the Transfiguration classroom for two minutes and…well, long story short. I did a spell. It went wrong. And now there is a monster-elephant on the loose in Hogwarts."

"What are we going to do?"

Lysander grinned mischievously. "Well…while it's _here_, we _could_ have some fun."

"Are you suggesting that we take an elephant-back ride around Hogwarts?"

"Not _suggesting_ so much…oh no. I'm _insisting_." Lysander said, raising his voice a little so that I could hear him over the constant trumpeting sounds that _thing_ was making.

"And if someone sees you on that thing?"

Lysander sighed. "Do you have to burst every single bubble of happiness that comes my way? _Why_, Scorpius?"

"I just don't want you to get in trouble," I shrugged. Something came over me and my arm seemed to reach out on its own accord and I stroked Spud's trunk.

Biggest mistake of my life.

I hate it when a person invades my personal space. I especially hate it when people touch my hair. So you can imagine how much I wanted to cry when a jet of water hit me. In the face. _Completely_ drenching me.

And I wanted to cry even more knowing that it came out of an elephant's trunk.

"EW!" I yelled as I watched Lysander literally wheezing with laughter. "THE ELEPHANT SNEEZED ON ME!"

"That's what you get for hating," Lysander struggled to say between gasps for air.

That elephant better watch its back…because I will get revenge. Whether that means stealing its private stash of peanuts or even if I had to Obliviate the thing. That would be the ultimate revenge on an elephant…it would totally cancel out the whole elephants-never-forget thing. But even I'm not that cruel.

I'd get my revenge soon enough…All I had to do was get the help of a certain person…

* * *

"Say, Rose…can I ask you something?"

"Sure." She smiled.

"How would you get revenge on an elephant?"

Rose was leaning against me, her head resting on my shoulder as she read a book. She sat bolt upright as soon as the question left my lips and looked as if I'd just told her that I would trip her over in a zombie apocalypse to save my own life. Which, of course, I wouldn't, but whatever.

"_Excuse_ me?"

"I said how would you –"

"I heard what you said…really Scorpius?"

"Yeah, I'm being serious." There was a moment of silence before we both broke into laughter.

"I don't think I even want to know the reason." Rose said, rolling her eyes and settling herself back down. "But _if_ I was going to answer that question, I'd say…_no_ idea. Where is this elephant you want to get revenge on anyway?"

"Lysander 'took care of it'," I said, "and God knows what that means. He's probably hidden it in McGonagall's office or somewhere as stupid as that."

Rose sighed, smiling. "Doubt it. Not even _Lysander_ would do that."

"You'd be surprised."

_**

* * *

**_

Draco…

Ron let out a small cough beside me. "Draco…this isn't the Phineas and Ferb convention."

I had to clench my fists to stop myself from hitting him.

"_Yes_, Ron, I _realize_ that. You know; the fact that there are huge STAR WARS posters and Lightsabers everywhere kind of gave it away."

"How do we get out of here? We can't go back the way we came so we'll have to find a different way…" He paused. "I know, we'll just do what you do best – make like a ferret and bounce!"

'Twas a wonder how he wasn't knocked flat on the floor by the end of his sentence. No – my attention was drawn to something different as both of us watched a chubby policeman walk towards us. He had a bushy moustache and wore round glasses. He was totally bald and I literally needed _sunglasses_ to protect my eyes from the brightness of the light that was bouncing off his head. He was carrying a cup of coffee, which he set down on a small table beside him before approaching us.

"Oh no!" I hissed.

"_He just put his cup down_." Ron swallowed.

"A fatal move. He must be staying a _long_ time!"

It's true. The fatal putting down of the cup always shows someone's about to over-stay their welcome.

"Jimmy, old pal! Haven't seen you in quite a while!" The man said, looking directly at me. "How have you been?"

"Oh…fine. Just…_peachy_." I replied, while Ron went purple keeping his laughter in.

"Are you quite all right? You sound different to the last time I met you…I thought you were Irish."

"That was my sister…_Morticia_."

"I didn't know you had a sister." The man frowned. "And how can she be – "

"Say, have you met my friend here?" I cut in, pushing Ron forward.

The man frowned at me before promptly taking Ron's hand and smiling. Ron turned beetroot-red. "This is my _wife_."

I couldn't keep it in. I just couldn't keep in my laughter at Ron's facial expression at that moment in time. It was a mixture of shock and pure horror. There were little beads of sweat appearing on his forehead…well, as much as I could see that wasn't covered in the wig he was wearing. He looked down and started shuffling away.

"Well…it was nice to see you again, but I'll have to go now," the man said politely, not sensing there was something wrong with his 'wife'.

Ron nodded and the man walked away. He let out a huge sigh and scanned the room quickly. "We're still stuck in here…Why don't we just Apparate home?"

"Because Astoria and Hermione haven't a clue where we are! And say we do get home and they're still here…"

"Oh come on, Hermione taught me how to use this thing called a...a...a _phellytone_, I think, and it lets you talk to people, wherever they are. You just…put in a number and call it and then…yeah." Ron mumbled, reaching into his pockets. He pulled out a rectangular-shaped metal hing and starting pushing buttons on it, before holding it up to his ear.

"HELLO?" Ron yelled, so loud that half of the crowd whirled round to look at the commotion. "_HERMIONE? HERMIONE, CAN YOU HEAR ME_?"

Ron listened to the reply. "OK, DRACO AND I ARE GOING TO APPARATE HOME, ALRIGHT?" Ron shouted before he could stop himself. I wasn't a expert on Muggles, but I was pretty sure that they didn't hear people talking about Apparating most of the time.

"BYE!" Ron pushed another button and put the thing back in his pocket. "Everything's fine." He grinned, as if he hadn't just shouted all of that.

"Let's just go, Weasel Bee," I sighed.

"I told you not to call me that!" Ron whined.

"I'm simply getting you back for the ferret thing."

Ron snorted with laughter. "I'm sorry, but that was _really_ funny."

"So is your face."

"So is your lousy attempt at Black Ops." Ron retaliated.

"So is you attempt to sing Phineas and Ferb songs."

"I love you, man!"

"I love you too, man!"

* * *

_**Ah…I just love Ron and Draco's little bromance kinda thing ;)**_

_**Pleeeeeease review, they really do help :D You guys are awesome *_***_


	32. Quidditch, Cuppy Cakes and Gumdrops

_**So dudes…here's the thing…**_

_**It's not the end just yet, but I've been mapping out ideas for the EPIC FINALE! And it will be epic…**_

_***cue dramatic note***_

_**RON AND DRACO SEEN WEARING "I HATE PHINEAS AND FERB T-SHRITS"**__**?**_

_***cue another dramatic note***_

_**ALBUS AND SCORPIUS INVOLVED FRIENDLY CHOCOLATE-FROG-CARD SWAPPING?**_

_***cue even more dramatic note***_

_**LYSANDER STOPS SAYING 'DUDE'?**_

_**COULD IT BE TRUE?**_

_**STAY TUNED TO FIND OUT…**_

_**Ok…so that was really cheesy, wasn't it? Anyway, to the realms and dominions of HOGWARTS…;D**_

**Chapter Thirty-Two – Cuppy Cakes and Gumdrops…Amongst Other Things…**

"SCORPIUS!" Lysander yelled, so loud I could hear him over the loud buzz of peoples' voices _and_ from the end of the Slytherin table…and he was stood at the entrance of the Great Hall. He was shouting in a tone that he usually reserved for when he was telling me about his new favourite song, or a new episode of Phineas and Ferb or whatever.

I scanned the room before my attention was drawn to a blur right in front of me. In the space of about three seconds, Lysander had ran all the way down the end of the Slytherin table, cartwheeled (yes…_cartwheeled_) towards me and sent a whole jug of pumpkin juice flying so far some of it hit the Gryffindor table on the other side of the room.

"Oh my _gosh_, don't you just _love_ chocolate _frogs_?" Lysander gushed while opening one of them.

"Yeah…sure. Lysander, exactly how many of those have you had?"

Lysander suddenly burst into hysterical laughter, so hard he was soon doubling up and gasping for breath. "Lysander…Lysander I think you should stop eating those now!"

"_You're my honeybunch, sugar plum, pumpy-umpy-umpkin, you're my sweetie-pie, you're my cuppy cake, gumdrop, snoogums-boogums, you're the apple of my eye!_" Lysander warbled between howls of laughter. "_And I love you so and I want you to know that I'll always be right here_, _and I love to sing sweet songs to you, because you are so dear!_" He sang loudly, promptly before collapsing to the floor and completely blacking out.

Lorcan strolled over to see what all the kerfuffle was about. He frowned when he saw that his twin brother had passed out. He kneeled down and prodded Lysander's face, a confused look plastered on his face, before shrugging and standing up again.

"Too many chocolate frogs again?"

"Looks like it," I muttered.

"Man, I thought Mom told him to stop eating those things…but Mom says a lot of things." Lorcan shrugged. "Hey, pass me that pumpkin juice, would you?"

I handed him the jug and I expected him to pour some into a cup or something.

Silly me.

He kneeled down again and tipped the contents of the whole jug over the Lysander's face. His eyelids snapped open through mid-pour and he managed to get some in his eye.

Oh, the cleverness of these two…

"OUCH! MR CORNIA!" Lysander cried dramatically. "I'LL NEVER BE ABLE TO SEE AGAIN!"

"Lysander, get up and stop being so dramatic." Lorcan stood up and held out his hand to help his brother up.

Lysander narrowed his eyes. "Do I get to wear an eye-patch?"

"Maybe." Lorcan said irritably.

"Can I have a chocolate frog?" His eyes were wide and his whole face was lit up. "Please?"

"No! Mum told you that you couldn't _have_ any more of those…remember? When you ate thirteen on the trot and decided to skateboard downstairs and landed head-first into Mom…you sang that exact same song to her before passing out right beside her. Does that ring a bell?"

Lysander blushed. "Oh yeah." He mumbled. "Honestly Lorcan, sometimes you make me feel like a horse in a hay-less barn!"

"Oh, yeah, right, don't go complaining about me, you'd be nothing without me!"

"I started saying dude first."

"I STARTED WATCHING PHINEAS AND FERB FIRST!"

Lysander glared. "I'm older than you. And those three minutes between our births…best days of my life.

WELL…I DON'T HAVE ANOTHER ONE!"

I watched as the argument ping-ponged between the two twins, so engaged that I didn't notice Rose and James were stood behind me. "Hey Malfoy." James smirked.

"Potter," I smirked back. I wrapped my arm around Rose and pulled her into a hug. "Long time no see, Rosie."

"Scorp you saw me yesterday," she laughed.

"And your point is…?"

"UGH! I think I'm gonna be sick," James grinned from behind us.

Rose sighed and rolled her eyes, but there was a smile playing at her lips. "Whatever James."

"I'm telling Uncle Ron…"

"Guess I'll tell Aunt Ginny that you 'accidentally' hit Professor Longbottom with a Bat-Bogey Hex…"

Sometimes I wonder why that girl isn't in Slytherin…

James opened his mouth in protest. "You know I was aiming for some _annoying_ first-year. He just ducked and Professor Longbottom _happened_ to be right behind him. _Complete_ misunderstanding!" James exclaimed.

Rose raised an eyebrow as if to say "Yeah…right," while I skimmed the Great Hall for A Particularly Annoying Thing.

Yes – I'd been thinking about it this morning. It finally dwelled upon me…Albus Severus Potter is _not_ a very nice person.

"How's your cousin doing these days?" I asked Rose lazily.

She narrowed her eyes as soon as the word left my lips. "Why?"

"No reason…Wondering if he's ready for the Gryffindor vs. Slytherin Quidditch match tomorrow."

"Well I'm ready, don't know about you two." Rose was a Chaser for the Gryffindor team, and Albus and I were both Seekers for our houses.

Hmm…this looked like it was going to be an interesting match from the way Albus was glaring at me from across the Great Hall…

_**

* * *

**__**The Next Day…**_

"I want a nice clean game, is that clear?" A voice bellowed from below us.

In the blink of an eye, the Quaffle, Bludgers and the Snitch were released and the game began.

Rose dived and caught the Quaffle and snaked her way through my fellow Slytherin teammates and aimed to toss it through one of the hoops. The Slytherin keeper Zabini caught it without effort and sneered at Rose which made me want to punch him. Hard. I'd never really liked him much…

"All right there Malfoy?" I heard a voice behind me say. I whipped around to see none other than Albus.

"Fine." I said bluntly before turning around. I manically looked around the Quidditch pitch to find the Snitch, while keeping an eye on Albus who was cruising around on his broom like he owned the place. I knew he hadn't seen the Snitch – if he had, he would've been going a lot faster. A flash of gold suddenly zoomed past me. The golden Snitch. It suddenly dropped downwards in an arch and I dived down towards the ground to retrieve it. This was just like every other Quidditch game – I'd spotted the Snitch and raced towards it, and then the adrenaline would start pumping through my veins like sharp knives, my heart beating against my chest in a loud drum roll. The wind flew through my hair like a whip, cold and bitter against my skin. But I loved it.

Somehow Albus had caught up with me without me noticing it. My arm was extended out towards the Snitch, my fingertips just centimetres away. So tantalisingly close, yet so far. I could almost feel the cold metal against my fingers.

We were neck and neck now, edging closer and closer with each passing second, when I stopped at the sound of someone screaming. My eyes instantly locked onto the source of the scream. Suddenly I saw someone hurtling towards the ground…

_**

* * *

**_

YEAH IM GONNA MAKE YOU WAIT!

_**Sorry to tell you but I won't be updating as much now…I've got THREE maths exams in the space of TWO days (yes, torture) so yanno…pray for me, dudes.**_

_**I'm doomed.**_

_**Anyway, enough about me and my non-existent so called 'life'! How'd you like the chapter? I hope you liked it :)**_

_**Review, please :D**_


	33. It's Just An Intimate GetTogether!

_**Soooo…I should be revising now.**_

_**But I'm not! ;D**_

_**I'll probably regret it tomorrow…oh well! Wow my mom would kill me if she saw this…and when my mom's angry…let's just say it's a fate worse than DEATH!**_

_**Hahaha… soo y'all think it's ROSE that's fallen…and you alllllll think that Scorp's about to catch the Snitch when BLAM! He has to go save her instead, and slimeball Albus ends up winning the game.**_

_**Well. You're wrong! Hehe *laughs in maniacal tone***_

_**Or are you…? O.o**_

_**Yeah…read to find out! :P**_

**Chapter Thirty Three – It's Just An Intimate Get-Together!**

The high-pitched scream echoed all around the Quidditch field, completely audible even over the cheers and jeering of the other students watching in the stands. Maybe my mind was playing tricks on me, but the body of the person falling down to the ground seemed to go from hurtling downwards at a mind-blowingly-fast speed to simply…floating in slow-motion. Hmm…someone must have yelled "ARESTO MOMENTUM" at some point. But whatever, back to the drama of it all. Every player from both teams had stopped to see what all the kerfuffle was about, some of them hovering lower than me, others hanging in mid-air above me. The body finally hit the floor with a soft thud, uninjured and unharmed. My heart skipped a beat – I could recognize that person a _mile_ away.

I looked over at the Ravenclaw stand and instantly spotted Lysander – not because he was dressed up as an enormous chocolate frog (yes, really…I'm not lying) but because I could see that there was SHOCK HORROR literally plastered on his face. After all – his girlfriend had just plummeted down to the ground from about sixty feet in the air. I think he had good reason for it.

I wanted to rush down to see if Selena (one of the Chasers for the Gryffindor team) was all right, but I knew she was OK and the faster I finished (and won, of course) this game, the faster I could go check. I heard a soft buzzing noise and out of the corner of my eye, I saw the tiny wings of the Snitch flapping upside down so fast it looked as if it was just one golden blob. Albus was hovering right next to me, and – as if by some telepathic magic – we glanced at each other and instantly raced off in the direction of the Snitch. I was pulling ahead, mainly because it was nearest to me when we set off for it, but soon enough he'd caught up. Both our arms were outstretched, our Quidditch robes billowing in the wind behind us. Albus suddenly caught me off guard and rammed against me and I almost lost my balance, but gripped the handle of my broom tightly. He was ahead of me now, and I saw that his fingers were just millimetres away from the Snitch. If I didn't catch up in about three seconds, it'd be in the palm of his hand and Gryffindor would have won.

To his surprise, I took a dive so that I was below him and then edged my way back up and pulled ahead, my arm stretched out in front of me. I pushed myself just a little bit further, just a little bit harder…and then…

"SLYTHERIN WINS!" A voice below us roared, and I felt the cold metal of the Snitch in my hand. Both my stomach and my heart seemed to lurch at the feeling of winning the match, but I couldn't stay up here and get all happy and stuff about winning when one of my best friends had just fallen off her broom, could I?

I flew down to the ground and hurried over to her. "Sel? Selena, are you all right?"

"Ugh…yeah…my head is killing me," She groaned as she sat up. "Who won?"

"Uh…" I muttered, searching for a nice way to give her news that would put her in an even worse mood than she already was. "_Not_ you…"

"Gee, _that_ makes me feel _better_. Oh well, I guess you won fair and square."

"Y'know, Lysander's really worried about you."

"He worries about everything. Over-reacter," Selena smiled. I held out my hand to help her up and she got to her feet.

"Hey! Are you OK? What happened?" Lysander ordered while rushing over to us, Rose by his side.

"I just lost my balance…Lysander what are you _wearing_?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Lysander grinned stupidly.

Selena turned to look at me. "My boyfriend is wearing a huge chocolate frog suit. _I'm_ the one who should be worried."

* * *

_**A few weeks later…**_

I'd been lounging around at home doing pretty much nothing in particular when Hootie flew in through the open window and dropped a letter in my lap. Yes – the year had finished and I had a whole six weeks of sunshine and lazing about to look forward to. I ripped open the envelope and instantly recognized the handwriting – it belonged to Lysander.

"_Hey, Scorp, my parents are going away for the weekend, so Lorcan and I are basically going to have the house to ourselves. Why don't you come over?_" It read.

Sounded like a good idea. I grabbed my quill and some parchment from my desk and scribbled a reply.

"_Sure – who else is going_?"

I waited a few minutes for Hootie to return with a reply.

"_Quite a few people. Should be fun_."

"_So basically you're throwing a party while your parents are out of town_?" I scribbled back.

"_Wow, Scorp, I could practically hear that smirk oozing out of the damn letter when I read that. But no – Mom said I couldn't throw a party so I'm wording it as an 'intimate get-together.' Anyway, just be at my house in about an hour._"

I leapt off the chair I was currently stationed in and went into the living room. "Dad? Hey, can I go to Lysander's later?"

"Sure, Scorp," Dad replied without hesitation.

Oh, this was going to be fun…

* * *

_**Lysander…**_

There was a sudden ring at the door and I opened it to see Scorpius there, with a whole bunch of people from school standing behind him. He had an ear-to-ear grin plastered on his face.

"Hey, is it OK if these people come to your…what was it?...ah – _intimate get-together_?" He drawled.

I hesitated for a moment. "Sure!" I shrugged. What harm could it do? There were already about fifty people crowded in my living room.

Another ring at the door. Another…twenty people there.

This was starting to get out of hand. I knew I had to do something, so I combined my two strongest skills – singing, of course, and knowledge of Phineas and Ferb trivia – to get it back under control.

"Lysander, you throw the _best_ parties!"

"YEAH!" Everyone suddenly yelled. "LYSANDER PARTY! LYSANDER PARTY!"

"It's not a party, it's an intimate get together!" I retaliated.  
"LYSANDER PARTY! LYSANDER PARTY!"  
"Don't call it that, it's just a get together!"  
"LYSANDER PARTY! LYSANDER PARTY!"

"Don't spill your drink  
Don't drop your food  
Don't make the music in the house go boom  
Hey, don't use my mom's good scissors  
And please stay out of my room  
Take your feet off the chair  
No running in the house  
Put a coaster under that drink  
Hey, these tchotchkes aren't for juggling  
And that's a toilet, not a sink!

It's not a party, it's an intimate get together!"  
"LYSANDER PARTY! LYSANDER PARTY!"  
"Don't call it that, it's just a get together!"  
"LYSANDER PARTY! LYSANDER PARTY!"

"Hey, what's this in this fishbowl?" I said, peering at Goldie that goldfish.  
"I said don't play with the remote!  
Hey close the door, were you born in a barn?  
Which one of you brought this goat?"

It's not a party, it's an intimate get together!"  
"LYSANDER PARTY! LYSANDER PARTY!"  
"Don't call it that, it's just a get together!"  
"LYSANDER PARTY! LYSANDER PARTY!"

"We're talking I to the N to the T-I-M-A-T-E get together!"  
"Whaaaat?" Everyone drawled, confused.  
"I to the N to the T-I-M-A-T-E get together!" I repeated.  
"That's right!"  
_"It's not a party._"

Seriously…how awesome am I?

*sticks tongue out at non-awesome people*

Muahahaha!

* * *

_**So how was that? Oh – let me know how you liked the Quidditch scene. It was REALLY fun to write! Review!**_


	34. Murderous Coat Hangers and Purpleness

_**I DIDN'T FAIL MATHS! =D**_

_**Sorry…had to get that outta my system, y'know? **_

_**Right, I'm going to start this A/N properly for once.**_

_**Greetings and salutations, fellow fic-readers/writers! I come in peace…LOL! OK, listen, I need you guys to do TWO things for me:**_

_**I want you to read THIS fanfiction: it's called Green With Envy, here's the link: .net/s/5905688/1/Green_With_Envy**_

_**I want you to read my NEW fanfiction, which is called The Boy With the Black Heart, the link of which is here:**_

_**.net/s/6892893/1/The_Boy_With_the_Black_Heart**_

_**I'm sorry to tell you dudes, that this is the second-to-last chapter. There will be one more after this one, and I'm thinking about writing a sequel too…anyway, on with this chapter! ;D**_

**Chapter Thirty Four – Murderous Coat Hangers and Violent Purple-ness**

_**Five Years Later…**_

_**Scorpius…**_

So…that went well…

As soon as I'd finished my sentence, James almost died from choking on his butterbeer. The two of us were sat in The Three Broomsticks.

"Are you _bloody_ mental?" He said slowly, half because he was still choking and half because he wanted to firmly drill into my head the fact that what I was about to do was completely and utterly bonkers. "I mean…I know you love her and everything but…he's going to kill you." James said bluntly.

"Ron isn't _that_ violent." I shrugged. "And we'll have to tell him – and my own dad for that matter – sooner or later. I mean bring on the pitchforks but I choose _sooner_."

"Wow…you must really love Rose if you're willing to go up against _Ron Weasley_."

"You know, as her cousin, you're not really selling her well."

"Well, my friend," James grinned, "I'm afraid that's how this family works. You'll have to get used to it if you're going to be a part of it."

That's right – I, Scorpius Malfoy, was about to tell Ronald Weasley that his daughter and I, as of yesterday, April 3rd, around 8:32pm, were _engaged_.

I know. That's probably more dangerous than tackling a thirty foot mountain troll. But don't worry your pretty little heads. It takes more than Ronald Weasley to scare Scorpius Malfoy.

* * *

"You alright?" I asked Rose, slipping my hand in hers, ready to Apparate to the Weasley's.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said, very un-finely.

We Apparated back to her house and Rose knocked on the door hesitantly, looking like she wanted to just turn around and run far, far away.

Thankfully, Rose's mother opened the door and Rose got straight to it. She never was one to mess around, she always just got straight to the point.

"Mum, Scorpius and I have something to tell you and Dad." Rose said, gripping my hand tight as if she was afraid I was about to Disapparate.

Hermione smiled encouragingly and ushered both of us inside the living room, where Ron was sat, staring at the remote control for the television.

"'Mione, how do you make this thing _louder_ again?" Ron asked, before noticing that Rose and I had come.

"Oh, hi Rosie!" Ron grinned, but it faded away when he saw that I was stood next to her. I simply smiled innocently and waved at him, knowing it'd really annoy him. "Scorpius."

"Rose said they've got something to tell us." Hermione said excitedly, sitting down beside Ron, whose eyes were narrowed in our direction.

"Go on…" Ron was studying his daughter's facial expression hard. From the look on her face, he probably got the idea that we were breaking up or something.

How wrong he was. But who was I to burst his little bubble of happiness?

"Mr Weasley –" I began.

"Please, call me Ron." He smiled. "Now what were you two saying?"

"Well Scorpius and I are…well we're –"

"Engaged." I cut in.

The reactions from the two people sat in front of us on the sofa could not, in a million years, have been more different. Hermione leapt up off the sofa and gave Rose the biggest hug in the history of huge hugs. Ron, however, in the space of two seconds, had turned a very violent shade of purple, grabbed the nearest thing in his reach and was pointing it at me like it was a wand. You see, it would have been alright if that thing happened to be a sock or something soft and more or less not dangerous, but that thing so _happened_ to be a _coat hanger_ and could fatally damage me if he tried. I could see the headlines now: _Ron Weasley attacks daughter's fiancé with coat hanger!_

What? Weird things happen when your whole life is flashing before your eyes…

I backed away slowly but he walked towards me, his weapon still in my face.

"Ron! Get that thing out of the poor boy's face!" Hermione exclaimed, finally letting go of her daughter. "You'll hurt him if you're not careful!"

Ron lowered his potentially murderous weapon on his wife's orders (well, Hermione can be quite scary at times) and I found the nerve to speak. "Ron…"

"Please, call me Mr Weasley." He snarled.

"OK, _Mr Weasley_…" I began again.

"Please, call me Your Majesty."

"Dad, stop it," Rose pleaded. "I don't see why you hate him so much."

Ron finally looked away from me and turned to face his daughter, struggling with a comeback. "I…well…he's…he's a _Malfoy_!"

I was…I was outraged. "_That's_ your excuse?"

Ron whirled round and glared at me.

"Okay, shutting up now," I mumbled, looking down.

"Dad why are you being like this?" Rose said as she tried to make her way over to me, but Ron moved so she couldn't get past.

Ron sighed in exasperation. "You're not marrying _him_, Rose, and that's final."

"Ronald!" Hermione growled. "May I speak to you for a moment?"

Ron took one glance at his wife and scurried off, while Rose – free of her father for a few minutes – sighed. I slowly walked over to her. "I knew this would happen." She sniffed.

"We all knew it would happen," I smiled. "He'll come 'round."

"I know. I've got a plan." Rose grinned, suddenly a lot more cheerful.

"Which is…?"

Rose smirked. "Not going to tell you in case it doesn't work."

I went quiet then, mainly so that I could listen to Ron and Hermione's conversation, that of which I only heard snippets of.

"Scorpius…marry…and then you…_coat hanger_!" Hermione hissed, which I translated into: "_Scorpius simply told us he was going to marry our daughter and then you nearly kill him with a coat hanger_!"

"I don't…Rose…marrying into that family…Malfoys!" Ron hissed back, which I also translated as "_I don't want Rose marrying into that family! They're Malfoys_!" which I didn't take offensively, because I knew my own father would be saying something along those lines soon enough.

"Don't worry, Mum will sort him out. Now we just have to tell the rest of them." Rose whispered.

"Exactly how many are there?" I asked.

"_Well_," Rose said, taking a deep breath, "There is James, Albus, Lily, Ginny, Harry, Fred, Roxanne, George, Angelina, Molly, Lucy, Percy, Audrey, Victoire, Dominique, Louis, Bill, Fleur, Charlie and my grandparents." She winced, counting everyone off on her fingers. "I think we should tell them today."

"So basically you think I'm about ready to be stabbed by twenty one members of your family?" I shrugged.

"That's not true…James doesn't hate you…" Rose said, a smile playing at her lips. "I'll get Mum to invite everyone over tonight and we'll tell them then. Meanwhile I think your parents deserve to hear the news."

* * *

"Mother…father…" I began. "Take a seat," I said, gesturing towards the sofa in the living room.

"I need to tell you something. Well, _we_ need to tell you something." I closed my eyes for a moment, waiting to be hexed into oblivion as soon as I told them the situation. "Rose and I are –"

"Getting married?" Father said, horrified, looking down at a piece of paper he was holding.

Rose and I looked at each other, befuddled. "How…how'd you know?"

"Ron owled him," Mum cut in, since dad was obviously lost for words.

"Let me see that!" I demanded, snatching the piece of paper out of his hands.

_Draco,_

_Your angelic son has decided to propose to my daughter without consulting us first. Under __**no circumstances**__ must this wedding take place._

_Ron._

I screwed up the letter and threw it to one side. Dad looked strangely calm. Mum looked completely overjoyed. What _was_ it with mothers and not being able to stop smiling when they find out their child's getting married?

"I'll talk to him," mum mouthed to me as she saw Rose and I out. "He's just shocked." She whispered.

I glanced at the clock on the wall. "We should get going." I said, and Rose nodded in agreement. It was time to tell the rest of the Weasley clan, that of whom were going to be my in-laws very soon enough…

_**INSERT LINE HERE**_

Never before have I seen a room so crowded with people who are all related. And Ron's living room wasn't exactly huge or anything…

James, Albus, Fred, Louis, Harry, Ginny and George were all crowded onto the three-seater sofa, while Bill and Fleur were sharing one of the three armchairs. On the other armchair sat Rose's grandparents and on the last one, Angelina, Roxanne and Lily. The remaining Weasley relatives – Molly, Hugo, Lucy, Percy, Audrey, Victoire, Dominique, Louis and Charlie (who had come back from Romania for a while) – had either dragged in chairs from the kitchen or were sat on beanbags that were scattered here and there all over the living room.

"Well," Rose began, swallowing, "Scorpius and I have something to tell you…"

"We're getting married!"

The reactions all around the room were completely different. Most of Rose's female cousins and aunts rushed over to congratulate us, while most of the male ones stayed put, murmuring amongst themselves, except for a few, like James, Hugo and Fred, who – for some unknown reason – ran up towards me…roaring…as if their favourite Quidditch team had just won the World Cup. Her grandparents, who were a little too old to be jumping and roaring and congratulating, simply hobbled up towards us and gave us both big hugs.

"You're _marrying_ him?" Roxanne yelped.

"Scorpius _Malfoy_?" Albus (ick.) yelped.

"_When_?" Lucy yelped.

"_Snurfle_," said Hootie – who yes, _is_ still alive and kicking, thank you very much.

"Yes, yes, and…no idea." Rose laughed.

Louis looked completely lost. "Whoa…your names going to be Rose _Malfoy_." He grinned.

Oh, the look on Ron's face when he said that was completely _priceless_…

* * *

_**So guys…how was that? Huh? You like?**_

_**Haha, well, I'm sorry to tell you that the next one is gonna be the last chapter. Sorry! Bring on the pitchforks…please don't hate me! I'm sorry.**_

_**Also I'm going on holiday in a few days so uh…I'm not gonna be updating for at LEAST two weeks. Again, sorry :)**_

_**Anyway, I love you guys, if you enjoyed this fic spread the love around, send it to your friends, get your friends to send it to their friends…whatever. So…review please! I love y'all!**_

_**PS…for the people who keep asking me…YES! I AM A GIRL!**_

_**Review! =D**_


	35. Only The Beginning

_**I really don't want to say this but, this will be the last chapter.**_

_***sobs uncontrollably***_

_**Sorry…this fanfiction is my baby! And now it's all grown up…*sniff***_

_**Yes – that **_**was**_** a joke. No – I'm **_**not**_** that sad. Yes – I **_**do**_** have a life.**_

_**Anyway, I hope you like this chapter and read my future stories, too, 'cause that would be TOTALLY AWESOME!**_

_**This chapter is dedicated to everyone who has ever read and reviewed this story. You guys are amazing :)**_

**Chapter Thirty Five – Only the Beginning**

I had to say, the day after we told the entire Weasley clan we were officially engaged went…rather well.

_Not_.

In fact, it was the complete _opposite_.

Rose and I were supposed to be having dinner at the Burrow to celebrate our engagement, but it seemed that Rose's father had a different way to rejoice our unexpected surprise.

"Now, Scorpius," he said, giving me his signature 'You-should-be-glad-that-I'm-not-about-to-go-all-Auror-on-your-ass-even-though-you're-marrying-my-only-daughter' look, "to prove you're worthy of my daughter, I've set up a little…challenge."

_Just kill me now_, was the first thing I thought.

Hermione looked furious, albeit she said nothing. "All you have to do is follow the clues I've set up and be back here in one hour."

"Can Rose come with me?" I asked, smirking slightly.

"No! I mean…_No_!"

"You always _have_ had a way with words haven't you?" I drawled, laughing. Ron went purple in anger.

"We'll see just who's laughing in the end, mate." Ron said through clenched teeth. He composed himself and took a deep breath. "Here's the first clue. I wrote it myself." He said proudly, handing me a piece of ink splattered parchment:

"_This puzzle is hard, but I am not fond,_

_Of my daughter's affection for a certain blonde,_

_But do not worry or try to abscond,_

_For the next clue is hidden in the home of wands."_

I read it out loud as the rest of the Weasley's watched me. Rose was reading it over my shoulder and I heard – and felt – her stamp her foot in frustration from the first two lines. I had a feeling she was going to be in a rather bad mood for about, say…a week?

"The home of wands?" I repeated, looking at Ron who seemed very pleased with himself. "That's easy – Ollivanders."

"Yeah, well, I decided to start off easy. Anyway, your time's already started. You'll find the next clue in Ollivanders, and it just goes on like that until you get back here. If you solve it in one hour, you can marry my daughter – no questions asked. If not – well…that can be decided later." Ron paused. "See you then."

Wow – talk about subtle hint.

Thinking I probably couldn't stay in the room any longer without shoving my wand up his nose, I Apparated to Ollivander's, who was very surprised to see me.

"Mr Malfoy?" He checked, making sure he wasn't senile or anything. "How can I help you?"

"Well, actually, Mr Ollivander, I was looking for a piece of parchment. Looks like this one. Ron Weasley put it in here earlier today I think." I warbled.

Ollivander – now extremely ancient and frail-looking – stared at me for what seemed for an eternity. "Sir?"

"Oh yes, sorry." He snapped back into action and disappeared behind the counter, returning with a piece of rolled-up parchment. "Here it is."

I took the note from him and read it:

"_Solving this will prove love for my daughter,_

_If you do not it is you I must slaughter,_

_This place is quite old but good for a chew,_

_Unscramble this to find the next clue:_

_**hTgdHseaeHo**__"_

It is you I must _slaughter_?

Well…Isn't he just _lovely_?

Sigh…I couldn't sit around moping about my future father-in-law's lack of loveliness when I had things to do if he was going to actually _be_ my father-in-law.

Hmm…think, think, think. Quite old but good for a chew? So it must be some kind of pub or restaurant or something…idea – The Three Broomsticks?

No – that was too long.

Think, think, think…

EUREKA! THE HOG'S HEAD!

'_I am just…so awesome!' _I thought as I Apparated to the Hog's Head, almost knocking someone over as I arrived there.

"Sorry, sorry," I muttered as I pushed my way through the crowded pub.

"Ah!" The barman said as I approached him. "I have something for you Mr Malfoy." He croaked. One of his wrinkly hands was wrapped around a piece of paper. I checked my watch – there was only half an hour left until I had to be back at the Burrow, which made me want to snatch it right out of his hands, but I figured that was really rude. But he was really slow.

About a lifetime later, when he reached me, he handed it over and I unrolled the parchment and anxiously read it:

"_I am covered in frills and bows that are bright,_

_I am open in day, though closed at night,_

_The next note is veiled in the pink design,_

_Where lovers go on the day of St. Valentine."_

When I looked up, the barman looked rather bemused. "Does it make sense to you?"

"What? Oh, uh, yeah, sure." I stammered, re-reading the third clue for the fourth time.

'_Where lovers go on the day of St. Valentine?' _That part got me thinking. Where did I take Rose on Valentine's Day? Well – a number of places: The Three Broomsticks (but that was open twenty-four hours and had a serious lack of pink inside it), Madam Puddifoot's…Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop! That made sense – open in day, though closed at night, covered in bright bows and frills…

And with a quick time-check, I Disapparated.

Or at least – that was the plan.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Lysander burst through the doors of the Hog's Head, panting. "Scorpius?" He asked confusedly. "Why are _you_ here?"

I bit my lip. "_Please_, Lysander, if you _truly_ care for the microscopic _scintilla_ of sanity that still remains in that _oddball_ head of yours, do not ask."

Lysander paused for a moment, and then shrugged. "'Kay. Sounds good to me."

"Good. Now if you don't mind I have to get to Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop."

I was about to Disapparate when I felt a jab in my arm.

"Lysander…quit…poking…me."

"Can't I come?" He whined, pouting.

"No!"

"Please."

"No."

"Please."

"No!"

"_Please_."

"NO!"

"Please…with a chocolate frog on top…" He grinned.

I scowled at him. "_Fine_. But only because you're a Ravenclaw and are supposed to be highly logical."

"Yay!"

* * *

We arrived at Madam Puddifoot's with a loud _pop_. The place was hot and crowded with teenagers who were kissing over cups of tea and coffee or whatever. It actually hurt my eyes to look around – the place was decorated with garish lights, bright bows, frilly ribbons and whatnot. "Ugh," I muttered, looking at the youngsters who were practically attached to each other with glue. "Hey 'Sander, were _we_ that bad when we were that age?"

Lysander looked around for a moment. "Yeah." He nodded.

"It's disgusting…and in _public_?"

"Yep."

I shook my head. "Whatever," I said, "we need to find the next note."

"Alright." Lysander nodded in agreement as we approached Madam Puddifoot who was stood behind the counter. "Greetings and salutations." Lysander began, whilst picking up a toffee apple from the basket on the counter and throwing it up and catching it in his hands. "Were these apples freshly picked this fine morn?"

Madam Puddifoot looked rather puzzled. When she gave no answer – much to my dismay – Lysander proceeded. "Say, do you come here often?"

I kicked his shin discretely. "Lysander, you inarticulate bumble! She _owns_ the place!"

"Oh!" Lysander whispered (though it wasn't very quiet). "I got this." He winked and turned back to a very confused Madam Puddifoot.

"Listen, dude," Lysander began, his tone very different this time, "we're looking for a piece of paper that was given to you and or placed in _this_ very tea shop this morning by Ron Weasley. Do you happen to have it?"

Madam Puddifoot did not speak, however she pointed to a large notice-board behind her and nodded at us in permission to go and check it out. I scanned the notice-board and found a piece of parchment. Written on it was eight lines written in Ronald's scrawl:

"_This place is warm and comfy,_

_An excellent place to stay,_

_But if you do not figure it out,_

_I'll mash you to puree,_

_This one isn't difficult,_

_I've lived here all my life,_

_Get here before your time is up,_

_If you want Rose as your wife,"_

"I've lived here all my life? Well that's simple – the Burrow." Lysander said as we read the note that was pinned to the board.

"Does that mean it's the last one? Well, that was easy!" I exclaimed.

"High five, Alfo!" Lysander cried as we slapped our hands together. "We make such a good team."

"Let's head back to the Burrow, I only have a few minutes left."

And with that, we returned to the Burrow…

* * *

If I thought the Matrix-style scavenger hunt was eventful…(yeah I know what the Matrix is – Rose told me after I thought it was the male equivalent of a matron) well, it was nothing compared to bachelor party. The entire male side of the Weasley/Potter clan had piled into one room. Yes – _one_. Oh – and Lysander of course, whom was now snorting with laughter.

"Hey Scorp, remember that time when I told you to hang me out of Ravenclaw Tower?"

"How could I forget?" I said through a mouthful of food.

What? I was getting married _tomorrow_ – I needed at least one more night of eating with my mouth open and doing whatever you're not supposed to do when you're married.

Suddenly a flashback entered my mind.

"_Scorp! Hey, Scorp!" I heard Lysander call. I spun around to see him running towards me._

"_What's up, 'Sander?"_

"_Come with me, I need you to do me a favour." He said, and dragged me off to Ravenclaw Tower._

_As usual, the portrait asked a question so that Lysander could enter. "I never was, am always to be. No one ever saw me, nor ever will. And yet I am the confidence of all, to live and breathe on this terrestrial ball. What am I?"_

_Lysander thought for a while. "Tomorrow." He replied, and the portrait door swung open._

"_What are you doing Lysander?"_

"_I need you to hang me out of the Ravenclaw Tower. Upside-down." He said cunningly._

_My jaw fell open. "Excuse me?" I stammered. "Why would you want to do that?"_

"_I want to see what it's like to be a bat!" He grinned stupidly._

_I thought for a moment, weighing out my options. "Alrighty, then."_

"_Excellent. Let me go get my chocolate frog suit."_

"_I thought you wanted to be a bat, not a frog!"_

"_I can be a…a frat." He laughed, storming up the stairs to his dorm. _

_I sighed and flopped down on the sofa of the Ravenclaw common room. Before I knew it, he was back downstairs and dressed as a frog. A large frog. A large _chocolate_ frog._

"_Alright, I'm ready." Lysander took a deep breath, while I carefully lowered him out of the window._

"_You okay there, Ly?" I shouted. He looked OK – either that or he was having some kind of arm spasm. He was flapping them around and making a really weird noise that I was pretty sure sounded nothing like a bat. More like a cat being strangled._

"_I'M FINE, SCORP! HEY! I CAN SEE MCGONAGALL FROM HERE! HEY, PROFESSOR MCGONAGALL! UP HERE!" He screamed while I doubled up laughing, but I kept a firm grip on Lysander's feet, while he swung from side to side…_

"I can never forget that, Lysander."

"I can't believe you're getting married to Rose tomorrow. Can anyone else believe that?" James asked.

There was a series of different murmurs and shouts from the rest of the guys, but most of them said no.

After a while, Lysander had fallen asleep and James was getting bored. "You got any Firewhiskey round here Scorp?"

"Yeah, help yourself."

"Oh, it's not for me," he grinned mischievously. He opened a bottle of the stuff and approached Lysander carefully, tipping about half the bottle into Lysander's slightly open mouth.

We all broke down in laughter as Lysander woke up, choking. Before we knew it, we all had a bottle each and were completely out of our heads.

"Lysander!" James laughed. "Give us some entertainment. Sing one of those…those Muggle songs you like so much!" He exclaimed, his speech quite slurred.

Lysander was delirious and started laughing, before breaking into song.

"_Move your body out on the floor, put your troubles aside and start living,_

_Anybody can let go, throw away all your problems, 'cause right now it's party time,_

_I, I don't feel out of place, 'cause I, I'm in love with this feeling,_

_Now I, I hope that this should last a while, we should make it last a while!_

_You like to drink, so do we, get my bottles, bring 'em to me,_

_Throw your glasses up, people everywhere,_

_Now everybody put your hands in the air, say yeah, yeah yeah_ – " was all he managed before he completely blacked out.

Let's hope his hangover tomorrow wouldn't be that bad.

* * *

I woke up the next day and the first thing I thought was; _"I'm getting married today."_

The second this was: _"My head is killing!"_

And then, there was this:_ "I'M GETTING MARRIED TODAY AND I'M TOTALLY HUNGOVER. ALSO, MY FATHER-IN-LAW-TO-BE HATES ME AND WILL PROBABLY HEX ME WHILE I'M WALKING DOWN THE AISLE!"_

Suddenly I didn't want to go through with this – not because I didn't love Rose, but because I just knew something'd go wrong today. I desperately tried to think of a way to postpone the wedding. Perhaps I could pretend I was ill. I looked at the empty Firewhiskey bottle on the floor. Maybe if I broke it up and ate it? No – that wouldn't work. I could throw myself of a building, but that'd just kill me. I could go hide in a cave for a while, leaving a trail mix so that I could find my way back, or maybe fly out to America and hide in the Mississippi River.

When it finally dawned upon me that none of these ideas would work, I groaned and got out of bed, wondering how today would go…

* * *

I waited anxiously as I watched her walk down the aisle, her bright red, curly hair cascading around her shoulders and down her back. Her white wedding dress was stunning – made from silky, flowing material. Her many female cousins walked behind her while her Uncle George led her down the aisle. She was surrounded by many people, but all I saw was her.

Yes – laugh if you will, but it's true.

I totally zoned out, until it was time for me to say 'I do' and I slipped the ring I'd bought her on her finger. There was an odd feeling that pulsed through me and it was weird to think that we were now – officially – married.

After the whole 'you may kiss the bride' thing, everyone crowded around for photos. Even Albus, the raincloud of the party, managed to crack a smile.

"Everybody say 'Chocolate frogs!'" Lysander exclaimed as he took one of the photos.

_Same old Lysander,_ I thought. And at that moment, I knew it was this was the start to a whole new life for me, and although it had just started, I knew I would love it. And this was only the beginning…

**THE END!**

**I can't believe I just said that! Anyway, pleeeeeease review! I'll love you forever!**


End file.
